Unpredictable
by SunnyMagicKingdom
Summary: Neji Hyuuga is starting his first year as a high school student in Japan's most prestigious boarding school, Konoha Academy, where only those from Japan's richest and most influential families can attend. He knew things weren't going to be easy when he found out that his roommate is a girl. Life in Konoha Academy is definitely unpredictable. (AU)
1. My Roommate

Author's Note: Hello, everybody! I know it has been forever since I've updated my other stories. I just started university and things became even busier. I feel so bad that I didn't update the other stories (forgive me, please). But here I am and I will try my best to update as much as possible! I've thought of this story and am very excited to start writing! I hope everyone will enjoy reading it!

Oh, and this Naruto fanfic is based on modern Japan so none of the characters have ninjutsu and all that. And yes, it is focused on Neji and Tenten, one of my favourite pairings of all time! Also, to avoid confusion, the words in italic are thoughts of the characters. I did that so it wouldn't get too confusing for you guys.

Okay, enough from me. Enjoy!

(I made some slight changes in this chapter. To avoid confusion, I would like to clarify that Ino are childhood friends with Shikamaru. I didn't mention it at first so I made some changes so this would be clear. Sorry, everyone!)

Chapter 1: My Roommate

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

"We're here, Neji-sama."

I was spacing out of the car window when the driver called out to me. I got out from one of the many black Mercedes Benz limos owned by the Hyuuga family. I had several men with me who were sent to help me with my luggage. Not that I needed much help but my Uncle insisted.

I stared at the building in front of me as the others got my luggage out of the car. Today is my first day as a first year high school student at Japan's best boarding school; Konoha Academy. Only the best and the richest of Japan are allowed to attend Konoha Academy and needless to say, as the Hyuuga prodigy, I got into this school easily.

"Registration period has started, Neji-sama. It's best we get going before it gets too crowded." My personal butler, Kenshin-san, said as he held onto one of my luggage.

I nodded at him and asked, "Why didn't Hinata-sama join us?"

Hinata is my cousin and today is also her first day at Konoha Academy.

"Hinata-sama said she still has some more packing to do so she will catch up later." My butler answered as we started walking into the building, together with two men in black suits and sunglasses, who were helping with the luggage.

As I walked pass people, both students and staffs, I can feel stares directed towards me. I'm rather used to having people stare at me. Plus, I don't really care. I can hear whispers from girls around me and I just continued walking, not even bothering to look at them.

"He's so cute!"

"Is he new? I never saw him before. He must be a first year student!"

"We should go ask for his number!"

" _Annoying."_ I thought to myself. No matter how used I am to girls acting like that, it still annoyed me.

I sighed quietly when we finally reached the principal's office to complete some registration process.

" _Finally, some peace and quiet."_

I walked towards a lady sitting behind the receptionist desk and said, "Excuse me. I'm Neji Hyuuga and I'm here to register."

The lady looked up to me and smiled. She had short brown hair and according to her name tag, her name is Shizune.

"Ah, Hyuuga-san! Our principal, Tsunade-san, has been expecting you. Please go on into her office." Shizune-san pointed towards a nearby office and I entered, after asking my butler and the other men to wait for me outside.

I knocked twice and enter the office.

"Good morning, Tsunade-san. I'm Neji Hyuuga. It's a pleasure to meet you." I greeted politely.

Tsunade-san looked away from her seemingly huge pile of paperwork and smiled at me.

"Good morning, Hyuuga! Welcome to Konoha Academy. I hope you will enjoy your high school life here. It wouldn't be easy but I believe a prodigy like you won't have any problems. Your uncle has high hopes on you and I am sure you wouldn't want to disappoint him. So work hard but remember to have fun as well!"

I nodded at Tsunade-san as I watched her go through the papers in front of her, looking like she is trying to find something. She sighed in relieved when she found the paper she was looking for. She handed it to me and asked me sign on the space beside my name on a list of new students. She then handed me the key to my new dorm room and also my class schedule.

"You will have class from 8 AM until 3 PM. Extra-curricular activities start at 4 PM and usually end at 6 PM unless you are told to stay. The dorm provides breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast starts being served at 7 AM, lunch at 12 PM and dinner is at 7 PM. The school gate is open for 24 hours, which means you are free to go whether you want and do whatever you wish. We want our students to learn to be responsible for themselves. You guys are no longer kids, after all. By the way, you'll be having a roommate. You'll be having the same roommate for your 3 years of high school. Changing your roommate is not allowed unless something really serious happened. That's all for now, I guess. Do you have any questions?"

I looked over at my schedule and noticed something at the top of it.

"What's this?" I pointed at my question and showed it to Tsunade-san.

'Section: A' were written on the top of my schedule. I wasn't informed of anything regarding this.

"Ah, this." Tsunade-san started answering. "Konoha Academy's students are divided into three sections; A, B and C. The students from section A are the best while the ones from section C is the worst. Not that the students from section C are bad or anything. Only the best of Japan can attend Konoha Academy after all. They are just worse compared to those in sections A and B. Anyways, students from different sections are assigned to different schedules and also teachers. You will even have different assignments and exams. Is this clear enough?"

I nodded at Tsunade-san and thanked her before leaving the office with my room key and schedule.

I thanked Shizune-san on my way out and headed towards my dorm to put down my stuffs. I finally convinced my butler and the two men that I can carry my own luggage so they have left and went back to the Hyuuga Mansion.

While carrying a backpack and having a luggage at each hand, I looked through the dorm for my room. The dorm was huge and looked very classy. The floors had red carpets which looked expensive and there were chandeliers here and there. The doors were made of beautiful wood and the door knobs were gold in colour. After 15 minutes, I finally found my room.

" _602."_ There were a total of six rooms on each floor and there were twenty floors in the dorm. So far, I'm impressed by this school.

I opened the door and what I saw inside shocked me so much that I became speechless.

A girl. To be exact, a girl is changing in my room.

I stared in shock and the girl looked so speechless that it was like she can faint any time soon.

When I feel like my brain is working again, I quickly close the door and stared into space.

" _What. Just. Happened."_ I thought hard to myself, still confused over what just happened. _"Why is there a girl in my room?!"_

Before I could come up with some answers, the door opened again, revealing a very angry girl whose hair were tied into two buns. Saying that she looked angry was actually an understatement.

"What are you doing barging into my room like that?! How did you even manage to get in?!" She started flaring at me, giving me death glares as she did so.

I blinked at her in confusion before being able to answer her, "This is _my_ room."

"What?! What do you mean? This is _my_ room!"

I rolled my eyes and thought, _"What is going on?"_

"I'm going to Tsunade-san to ask about this." The flaming girl stomped away, leaving me confused.

I sighed, put my stuff into the room, before walking towards the direction of Tsunade-san's office.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

" _What in the world was that?!"_ I thought to myself angrily. _"A guy came in while I was changing in my room. My room! I want answers."_

I stormed into Tsunade-san's office, ignoring Shizune-san who was trying to stop me.

Tsunade-san stared at me, leaving her eyes away from her never-ending paperworks.

"Tenten. What's wrong? You look furious." Tsunade-san asked, looking like she knows nothing.

"Because I am furious. A guy walked into the room while I was changing! What in the world is going on here?! Who-"

I was cut off by Tsunade-san who put up her hand to stop be from continuing my rampage.

"Calm down, Tenten. You are hurting my ear drums."

I was still fuming when Tsunade-san continued.

"I assume the guy who entered your room was Neji Hyuuga, your new roommate. Is there a problem?"

"A problem? Of course it is a problem! A big one! Why is my roommate a guy?!"

By this time, the guy, who is supposed to be my roommate, entered the office.

"Neji, just in time. Why don't the two of you sit down first." Tsunade-san motioned us towards the two chairs in front of her.

We sat down and looked at her, looking very eager for answers.

"Well, there is a new system for students in section A this year. Most of your assignments or tasks are done in pairs and it was decided that the school will pair the students up. The school also decided that it will be easier for the students to be roommates with their partner. Of course, you guys will get to work with other students besides your roommate."

"Hang on there. How is this alright?!" I stood up from my seat and burst out in anger. "My roommate is a guy! How is this even alright?!"

"Calm down, Tenten. If you let such a small thing get you so emotional, how are you supposed to be successful in the future?" Tsunade-san said and proceeded back to her paperwork.

"Small things?! How-" Tsunade-san glared at me when I tried to fight back again. I stopped before I anger Tsunade-san and sighed in annoyance.

Neji, who sat beside me, looked annoyed but knew not to offend Tsunade-san. We left the office in defeat, still annoyed at this so called 'new system'.

When we were back into the room, I cleared my throat and faced Neji.

"My name is Tenten. Even though I'm still pissed at what happened earlier, I know that it's not your fault. It's unreasonable of me to stay mad at you. Since we'll be roommates for the next three years, might as well try to get along."

I calmed down a little and was able to observe the guy in front of me. He probably had the most beautiful white eyes I had ever seen. His hair was long and looked so silky and soft. I hate to admit it but I couldn't seem to take my eyes of him.

"My name is Neji Hyuuga. Nice to meet you. Sorry about what happened earlier."

" _Is voice is so deep and hot. So-. Hang on. Get a hold on yourself, Tenten! Snap out of it!"_ I thought as I try to get rid of what was on my mind.

I smiled, trying to hide what was on my mind, and spoke, "Well, looks like we'll be classmates and partners as well from now on."

"Yeah." Neji answered as he looked around their room, looking quite impressed.

I'm not surprised he looked impressed with the room. It was a rather huge room and was decorated well. The room was divided into two sides; with each side was identical to the other. Each side had a queen sized bed, desk, chair, wardrobe and also a bookshelf. Everything looked very expensive and well-maintained.

There was a door on the right side, which leads to the toilet, which is very big and pretty too. Overall, I'm very happy with the room and I could see Neji was as well.

"Well, we better started unpacking. We can go look around the school afterwards." I said and walked towards my opened luggage.

"Sure." Neji answered.

" _He isn't the talkative type, is he?"_ I thought to myself and proceed to unpacking my stuffs.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

" _Great start indeed. Getting a female roommate."_ I thought as I started putting my clothes into the wardrobe. I've decided to take the right side of the room while Tenten took the left side.

I looked over my shoulder to the other side where Tenten was putting some things onto the bookshelf.

" _Despite her scary personality, she looks cute. Pretty too, actually. Wait, what am I thinking?!"_ I tried not to get distracted and went back to unpacking.

It took both of us almost two hours to finally finish unpacking. Tenten sighed and threw herself onto her bed.

"Finally." She said. "I hate unpacking. It's so tiring and boring! It just annoys me."

I just stared at her as she complained. Usually, I would easily get annoyed at people who talks or complains too much. However, listening to Tenten was rather amusing. Maybe it was her numerous expressions. It was interesting.

Tenten must have caught me staring. She sat up and asked, "Why are you staring at me?"

It took me off guard a little but I obviously didn't want to show that. I answered calmly, "Nothing. Let's go take a look around school."

Tenten looked as if she had regained a lot of energy as she stood up from her bed, "Yes, let's go! That is so much more fun than unpacking all this stuff! Plus, this school is huge! Can't wait to check the facilities out!"

" _Where does she get all those energy from?"_ I wondered as I put on my shoes before leaving the room.

When we left our room, we could hear two people arguing in the room right in front of us.

"What the hell?! What is going on?! Why in the world are you my roommate, Shikamaru?!" I could hear a girl scream in a high pitch voice.

"Troublesome." This comes from a guy and he sounded rather pissed off. But he definitely wasn't as loud as the other girl.

"I think we know what's going on in there." Tenten said, looking rather amused.

"Yeah." I answered.

Tenten shrugged and started walking towards the lift, "We'll let them be for now. Let's go check out the canteen! It's on the ground floor of this building and I didn't have time to check it out before!"

I followed the overactive Tenten and walked pass yet another pair of fighting students.

"Who are you?! Why in the world are you in my room?!" A girl shouted, almost as loud as the girl in front of our room.

Tenten stopped to look because the door was open and we could see the two of them inside, looking very confused and angry at the same time.

The girl had pink hair, which was rather unusual, and was glaring at a raven haired guy.

"Wait, isn't that…" I smirked a little when I recognized the guy inside the room, who looked rather pissed off at the screaming pink-haired girl.

"Sasuke." I called out and the two people inside the room looked at my way.

Sasuke smirked a little and walked towards me.

"Neji. You live on this floor as well?"

"Yeah, I lived right beside you actually." I looked at Tenten who was standing beside me. "This is my roommate, Tenten. Tenten, this is Sasuke Uchiha, an old friend of mine."

I've known Sasuke since we were really young, probably since we were three years old. I couldn't really remember. The Uchiha and Hyuuga families had always been close to each other and were also business partners. The Uchiha family owns Japan's best and most successful airline called the Uchiha Airlines. Uchiha Airlines is also one of the world's most well-known airlines and had a great reputation. On the other hand, the Hyuuga family owns the most successful automobile company in Japan and also in the world. Our two families started a joint company before I was even born, which focuses on producing high quality helicopters. The business was a huge success and the two families became even closer.

Of course, I was close to Sasuke as well. We even see each other as rivals.

Tenten smiled and said, "Hey! I'm Tenten!"

The girl with pink hair, still looking rather pissed, walked up to Tenten and said, "Your roommate is a guy too?! Why aren't you looking angry?!"

Tenten tried not to laugh at the angry pink haired girl and answered, "Calm down now. Let me explain."

Tenten explained everything Tsunade-san told us to Sasuke and Sakura, the pink haired girl. Sasuke, as usual, didn't look interested but I could see he was slightly annoyed. I've known him long enough to be able to read his expressions. Well, not exactly expressions. He never really showed expressions. He's rather difficult.

Sakura sighed in defeat, "What am I going to do?"

Tenten placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder and said, "There isn't much we can do, Sakura. I was furious at first but I realized I cannot do anything to change anything."

I heard Sasuke sighed softly and walked towards me, "I never heard about this new system."

"Neither did I" I answered. "You better start unpacking, Sasuke. See you later."

"Hn." Sasuke responded.

"Let's go, Tenten." I said and walked towards the door.

Tenten left the distressed Sakura and came towards my way.

"See you later, Sakura!" Tenten said as we left the room.

We walked around the spacious canteen on the ground floor, not hiding our impressed expressions.

"This place is awesome!" Tenten exclaimed.

The canteen tables and chairs were made of classy looking wood. There were sparkling chandeliers hanging on the roof and the whole place looked so clean.

"Let's go see the gym!" Tenten said in an enthusiastic voice and ran.

"Seriously. Why is she so full of energy." I said to myself as I followed her.

It was almost an hour afterwards and we felt like we didn't even cover half of the school.

"Why is this school so big?!" Tenten said. "I don't think we can go through the whole place in just a day."

Just then, both mine and Tenten's phones had notifications.

I looked at my iPhone which I just bought a week ago and saw that I received an email in my new school email account. When we were enrolled into Konoha Academy, we were given a school email, which was for school usage only.

The email was about a floor meeting tonight.

"Looks like we'll have a meeting with our floor mates tonight!" Tenten said as she read through the email from her own phone. I noticed that she had the same phone as I did. "This email was sent by the teacher in charge of our floor. Looks like we will be meeting the teacher as well tonight."

I put my phone back into my pocket and so did Tenten. We proceed to walking around the school a while more before deciding that it was impossible to cover the whole school today.

"It's already 6 PM. Might as well go back to our rooms and take a shower before dinner." I said, walking towards the direction of our dorm.

Tenten followed me and I'm not surprised she was still full of energy. She commented on almost everything we came across and I just listened to her without responding much.

Not that I was annoyed at her. Just that, I wasn't exactly the talkative type.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

" _I concluded that my roommate is definitely not the talkative type."_ I thought as I lay down on my bed while Neji showered.

I did most of the talking but at least Neji didn't look too bothered about it. It was 6.20 PM by the time we came back to our room. I'm still amazed at how big our school was. I was really happy about it. Not just because it was extremely huge but it was very pretty as well.

" _I also noticed how a lot of girls stared at Neji when we were going around school. Not surprising actually. He is good looking. Wait, let me rephrase my words. He is very good looking."_

I stopped those thoughts when the bathroom door opened. Neji came out with just his pants on, revealing his toned chest and abs.

" _I-Is that s-six p-packs? Oh my goodness, can he get any hotter."_ I could feel myself blush and I wasn't able to look away from Neji's well-trained body.

Neji must've noticed and smirked a little, "Like what you see, Tenten?"

I swear my cheeks must have been so red. I jumped out of my bed, got my clothes and hurried into the bathroom.

"Shut up, Neji!" I said before slamming the bathroom door shut.

I swear I could feel Neji smirking at the other side of the door as I blushed hundred shades of red.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

The two of us arrived at the canteen at 7 PM sharp. The floor meeting was assigned to be at 8 PM so we had quite plenty of time to eat.

The meal was in the style of a buffet, which was served in the middle of the canteen. We got our food and proceed to sitting down on a nearby empty table.

Tenten was commenting on how good the food was as she ate. Although we just met a few hours ago, I'm rather used to listening to Tenten already. I kind of like it, actually.

As I ate, I noticed some boys looking at Tenten while whispering to one another. I actually noticed that a lot of boys checked Tenten out when we were walking around the school. I'm not exactly surprised since she is indeed cute.

I found it rather disturbing that there are people staring so I glared back at those guys. My glare must have been intimidating since the guys quickly went back to minding their own business.

"There are desserts! Let's go take some!" Tenten exclaimed and left the table.

I still didn't understand how she could be so energetic all the time.

It was 7.50 PM when Tenten was finally satisfied with all the desserts she had. I made a casual remark as we walked back to our floor.

"If you ate so many desserts all the time, you'll easily become fat, Tenten."

Tenten punched my arm and said, "Shut up, Neji!"

She punched me a few more times before we reached the common room of our floor.

A common room was where the people in our floor can relax, watch TV or read books. There was a comfortable sofa, a big plasma TV, a bookshelf full of popular books or novels and also a kitchen where we were allowed to cook.

The window in the common room faced one of the gardens in our school, which was a really breath taking view, by the way.

"This place looks amazing too!" Tenten exclaimed.

"You comment on every single thing you see, don't you?" I said, in a casual tone like just now.

That earned me a few more punches from Tenten again.

While Tenten was busy punching me and calling me emotionless and all that, I noticed that there were already people inside the common room.

There were a girl and three boys. The girl had blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She looked almost as pissed off as Sakura was earlier. Beside her was a boy who looks like he was dozing off. He had brown hair which was also tied up and was wearing a jacket. I noticed that the blonde hair girl was glaring at the sleeping guy beside her, once in a while either shouting or hitting him, asking him to stop being so lazy.

The other two boys were sitting on another side of the sofa. One of them was wearing a white jacket that reached halfway through his face. He had sunglasses on despite being indoors.

" _Weird."_ I thought.

The guy beside him wore a jacket that had fur around the hood. He had fangs and looked more active compared to the guy beside him, who had not even moved an inch since earlier.

"Tenten, could you stop hitting me already." I said. Despite her small figure, her punches were rather painful.

"Can't take a few punches, Neji? How weak!" Tenten smirked, as if declaring a victory or something.

I simply rolled my eyes and sat down on the sofa. The sofa was rather spacious, enough to fit several of us.

Tenten pouted, which I found rather adorable but I will not tell her that, and sat beside me. The blonde girl was beside Tenten and noticed our presence. She finally stopped trying to wake the guy beside her up.

"Hello there! I'm Ino Yamanaka! Nice to meet you! I'm stuck with this lazy ass childhood friend of mine since morning and I'm glad to be interacting with a girl after a long day!" The blonde girl was loud and her voice was high pitched.

" _She must be the girl living in the room in front of us. Her voice is familiar."_ I thought.

Tenten was smiling brightly, "My name is Tenten! A pleasure to meet you too! This is my roommate Neji." Tenten looked at me over her shoulder as she spoke to Ino.

"Wait, your roommate is a guy too?! I was so upset when I found out Shikamaru is my roommate! I was looking forward to have my very first roommate, a girl of course. We would go for facial, manicure, go to the salon together and do so many things together! But no, I'm stuck with this guy who kept on calling me a 'troublesome woman'!"

Ino just kept on complaining for what felt like a long time. Tenten simply nod and laughed at the furious blonde girl in front of her.

"I was so mad I went to confront Tsunade-san!" Ino continued. "Of course, Shikamaru didn't even bother to go with me because he said it is too troublesome. He is the laziest person I've met in my life!"

"Calm down, Ino. Nothing we can do to change the school's system." Tenten said as she patted Ino's shoulder.

Ino continued complaining for the next few minutes before the common room's door opened again.

Sasuke and Sakura entered and I noted that Sakura didn't look half as annoyed as she did earlier.

"Sasuke." I greeted my childhood friend. I think I also considered him as my best friend but these kinds of stuffs are too cheesy and I don't quite bother with them much. Sasuke wasn't that sort of person as well, anyway.

"Neji." Sasuke sat beside me while Sakura went to talk with Tenten and the still flaming Ino.

"So how are things with your roommate?" I asked.

"At least she stopped complaining. It's annoying to hear her shouting." Sasuke replied in a cold tone, just like usual.

I just smirked. What Sasuke just said was something I expected out of him.

The door opened again and four more people entered. One of them was something I'm very familiar with.

"Hinata, you're on this floor too? I didn't know." I stood when I saw my cousin enter.

"Neji nii-san! What a coincidence." Hinata was smiling and proceeded to introduce the guy beside her. "This is my roommate."

I blinked a few times before I could respond.

"Your roommate is a guy?" I looked over to the blonde beside my cousin, who had been grinning ever since he entered the room.

"Hello there! You're Hinata-chan's cousin?! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

Hinata's roommate sure was loud and overactive.

"I'm Neji Hyuuga." I said, in a much calmer voice, of course. I glared at him a little before saying, "Make sure you don't do anything funny towards my cousin."

I saw Naruto gulped and left to introduce himself to the others after he assured me he won't do anything weird to Hinata.

The other two who just entered were guys. One of them was rather chubby and was eating some chips while the other was, let's say, rather weird looking. He was wearing green spandex and had really bushy eyebrows. He, along with Naruto, was going around introducing themselves.

It was already 8.30 PM and the common room was getting noisier.

" _The teacher is late."_ I thought.

Right afterwards, the door opened to reveal a guy with spiky silver hair. He had a mask covering his mouth and nose and he had a headband covering one of his eyes.

" _He must be the teacher in charge of this floor."_ I thought and went back to sit on the sofa.

* * *

 **Kakashi's POV**

"Sorry for being late. I saw an injured cat on my way here and I knew I need to bring it to the clinic." I saw everyone's expressions, showing that they didn't believe what I just said. I laughed a little and said, "Well then, please, take a seat, everyone." I announced and continued when everyone had sat.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake, the teacher in charge of this floor. I'm responsible for making sure everyone can adjust to their lives here in Konoha Academy. It isn't like any other high schools in Japan so it could get rather difficult sometimes. Moreover, everyone on this floor is from the first year's section A. So your assignments are going to be much more difficult than the others. I believe you guys know about the different sections already?"

I saw several nods and since nobody looked confused, I continued.

"So, before I continue, can everyone introduce themselves?"

I looked at the boy closest to my right, silently asking him to start.

"My name is Neji Hyuuga."

" _Neji Hyuuga, eh."_ I thought to myself. _"The prodigy from the Hyuuga family. His family owns one of the most successful automobile companies in the world. His uncle, Hiashi Hyuuga, is the current president of the company while his father, Hizashi Hyuuga, is the vice president. The Hyuuga family has very high hopes on this Neji kid. Even Tsunade-san was looking forward for Neji to come to this school."_

I did my research on each and everyone in this room before the meeting. I might be known as a lazy person but I'm doing this because I'm curious. After all, everyone in this room was from the most prestigious and the richest families in Japan. All of them are full of potential too. It's not surprising they are all in Section A. Not only must you be talented in a way or another, you must be from rich and influential families.

"Hi, everyone! I'm Tenten! Looking forward to be friends with everyone."

" _So, this is Tenten. She lost her parents in a car accident when she was just seven years old. Since then, she was taken care of by her older brother along with the butlers and maids of her household. Her family's company produces weapons of the highest quality, which were all produced for the Japanese military. It is illegal for commoners to own weapons, after all. That is why Tenten's family is not only rich, but is also very influential in the Japanese government. Her older brother will take over the company right after he finishes university. Currently, the company is ran by Tenten's uncle, who is the younger brother of Tenten's father."_ I thought as I made a mental note on how cute Tenten looked. I quickly erased that thought from my mind and moved my gaze to the girl beside Tenten.

"I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga. A p-pleasure to m-meet everyone."

" _Hinata Hyuuga, Neji Hyuuga's cousin and the eldest daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga. A shy girl indeed. Despite her lack in confidence, she has a lot of potential as well. A lot of debate is going on as to who should be the next president of the Hyuuga company. Hinata Hyuuga doesn't seem to be the type that looks like she cares about these stuffs though."_ I proceed to look at the blonde guy beside Hinata.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei! Hello, everyone! The name is Naruto Uzumaki! I love ramen, a whole lot! We should go eat ramen together!"

" _Naruto Uzumaki is definitely as noisy as everyone says. The only son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Minato Namikaze is the current prime minister of Japan. He is intelligent, kind and loved by the people of Japan. Despite the noisy personality his son has, everyone believed that Naruto Uzumaki is full of potential and can one day become an even better prime minister than his own father. Well, we shall see about that."_

The next person seemed rather emotionless as he introduced himself, "I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

" _So this is Sasuke Uchiha, the prodigy of the Uchiha family. His family owns one of the most successful airlines in the world and is definitely one of the richest families in Japan. They are also very influential in the Japanese police force since a lot of people of high positions in the police force are from the Uchiha family. A lot are expected from Sasuke Uchiha. I'm expecting a lot as well."_

"Hello! I'm Sakura Haruno. Nice to meet everyone!"

" _The girl with pink hair, Sakura Haruno."_ I thought as I looked at her pink hair, still finding it difficult to believe it was real. _"Her family's company produces almost all medical equipment in Japan. They are very influential in the medical field and Sakura Haruno wants to become a doctor one day. She is an intelligent girl who already has a lot of medical knowledge despite her young age. She is also actively helping her family's business."_

"I'm Ino Yamanaka! I hope we can all get along well! I can't wait to have fun with everyone!"

" _Ino Yamanaka, the girl who is as noisy as Naruto Uzumaki. Her family owns a very successful perfume company which is known internationally. They produce perfume using flowers grown by their company. The flowers they grow were so beautiful that the company decided to open flower shops across Japan as well. Even though Ino Yamanaka is noisy and looks as if she cares about nothing but having fun, she is also believed to be able to succeed in the future."_

I stared at the guy beside Ino, who looked like he was half asleep. He seemed to notice that I was staring at him. He sighed and softly said, "Troublesome."

"I'm Shikamaru Nara."

" _The lazy ass, Shikamaru Nara. His family owns the largest oil company in Japan so they are very rich. His father is also influential in the Japanese government because he often gives advices regarding strategies the country should use to further improve the country. Shikamaru Nara is believed to one day do the same like his father. Shikamaru Nara may look like a very lazy person but his IQ is over 200. He is probably one of the most intelligent people in Japan."_

"Hello there. I'm Kiba Inuzuka! Looking forward to knowing everyone!"

" _Kiba Inuzuka. Their family is full of vets who are known worldwide. They aren't just normal vets, though. They are also excellent animal trainers and all the dogs in the Japanese military are trained by the Inuzuka cooperation. Come to think of it, a lot of people in this room came from families that are great influences in the Japanese government and military. Anyways, the Inuzuka family is also active in protecting animal rights across the world. They had started a lot of international NGOs that protects the rights of animals and all those. That's why they are so well-known even outside Japan."_

I looked at the guy beside Kiba, whom I've noticed had not moved at all since I entered.

"I'm Shino Aburame."

" _Shino Aburame's family owns a very successful company that produces high quality honey. The honey they produced was then also used to produce other things such as cosmetic, shampoo, soaps and many more. The bees they have are known to be one of a kind. A lot refer to them as the ones with a special way in harvesting bees."_

I proceeded to staring at the next guy, who was too focused on his potato chips.

"Ah, hi there. I'm Chouji Akimichi."

" _The Akimichi family owns Japan's biggest snack company. It is so successful that it exports products internationally. No wonder Chouji Akimichi became so chubby."_

I looked at the last person in the room and he stood up to introduce himself.

"I'm Rock Lee! Green beast of Japan!"

" _What does green beast of Japan even mean? Rock lee's family is famous for their martial arts and owns a lot of Dojo across Japan. Their family also trained a lot of people from the Japanese military in martial arts, hence, is very influential in the Japanese government as well. What is with everyone being so rich and influential? No wonder they are all in section A."_ I thought as I stood up in front of everyone.

"Well, thanks for the introduction. School starts three days from now on Monday. From tomorrow until Sunday, we will be having orientation. So you'll get to know more about the school and also your classmates. Also, there is a general assembly tomorrow at 8 AM in the main hall. Make sure you'll be on time. Do any of you have any questions?"

Ino raised her hand and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, is it possible to change roommates?"

Right, some of them have roommates of different gender. The so called 'new system'. There was definitely something more than that. I didn't know what but I will find out soon anyway.

"I'm sorry, Ino." I answered. "Tsunade-san made it clear that it is not possible for you to change roommates."

Ino sighed in defeat, looking rather frustrated.

"Alright, if nobody else has questions. That's it for now. Good night."

" _It's going to get interesting with this group of students."_ I thought as I walked back to my own room, which was in another building beside the student dormitory.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter is longer than I thought it'll be! I hope everyone likes the story. I'm sorry for any mistakes I made along the way! Anyways, I would be very happy if you guys would review the story. Suggestions are welcomed so feel free to click the 'review' button and send me a review, guys! I promise to update this story as soon as possible. Thank you for reading!


	2. Morning Problems

Author's Note: Hello, again! I really appreciate those who reviewed, followed and even added this story as their favourite! I will continue writing and I hope you guys will continue to enjoy reading it.

Chapter 2: Morning Problems

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I knew most people wouldn't believe me if I were to say this. I was sure others will laugh at me for saying what I was about to say. But, trust me; I am not trying to fool anyone here.

Waking Neji up was the most difficult thing I had ever encountered in my entire life.

For the past fifteen minutes, I had been trying to wake Neji up but had failed miserably. He didn't even move a single inch! Judging from his looks, it was as if he was the type that wakes up extra early everyday to catch the sunrise. I didn't know why but I just felt that way. Maybe it was his formal and strict personality which made me thought that he was a morning person.

"Neji." My tone sounded desperate. "Would you please just wake up?"

I sat down on Neji's bed and looked at the clock on the wall.

"It's already 6.20 AM, for goodness sake! I don't want to end up missing breakfast because of you!" I yelled in frustration. It didn't wake him up, of course.

I stood up and kicked his leg, which didn't wake him up as well. I wanted to just leave him but I thought of what Sakura said yesterday before the meeting started.

We were all given a student handbook and we were advised to read through it. I didn't bother doing that though because it looked like a very boring book. However, the hardworking Sakura actually read through it. It wasn't that thick of a book but knowing that she read through all those boring stuffs made me admire her a lot.

Apparently, according to Sakura, if your partner was late to class, you'll be considered late as well. In this case, if Neji was late to class, I would be marked late. What was worse? If you were late for more than three times in a month, you'll be punished. What was the worst? The punishment wasn't stated so it was like a surprise attack. You wouldn't know what would be done to you.

I didn't really care about that last night because Neji looked like a morning person. I was actually worried that I'll be the one late and Neji would kill me.

Well, looking at things now, I would be the one doing the killing.

I decided to take a quick shower before continuing to wake the sleeping log up. It felt impossible and I was on the verge of giving up.

 _"_ _No. I must not give up. I will not receive any punishment, whatever the punishment is."_ I told myself with determination.

Unfortunately, despite the sudden surge of optimism, I still failed to wake Neji up. I tried hitting him with various things, such as pillows, books and even his heavy backpack.

Nothing.

He still didn't move.

"You're impossible!" I screamed even louder when I realized that it was already 6.45 AM. Breakfast would start in fifteen more minutes.

I tried to calm myself down so I could think of a plan.

There was silence in the room and an idea suddenly came to me.

I quickly ran out of my room and knocked on my neighbor's door.

The door opened to reveal Sasuke who seemed to be done preparing to leave.

 _"_ _Why can't Neji be like his best friend in terms of waking up in the morning?"_ I thought to myself, feeling the anger coming back to consume me.

"What brings you here?" Sasuke asked as he fixed his tie.

I noticed how nice the male uniform was. They wore white buttoned up shirt with long sleeves. The collar and tie made them looked smart as well. The tie was dark red and it was absolutely classy. The shirt's pocket had the school's logo on it. The pants were long and were of the same colour as the tie.

The female uniform was the same actually. Just that we wore short skirts instead of pants. Overall, I didn't have complains regarding the uniform.

Anyways, I had more important things to attend to right now so I didn't exactly have the time to think about uniforms.

"I can't wake Neji up. I've tried so many ways but none worked. I even shouted at his ear while punching him. He didn't even move an inch! You're his closest friend, Sasuke. Do you have any idea how to wake him up?" I looked at Sasuke desperately, hoping he would lend me a helping hand.

I ran out of ideas to wake up that stupid log.

Sasuke almost looked like he was about to laugh, which caught me by surprise. He quickly gained his composure though and started walking to my room.

He walked up to Neji and had this look on his face which made him look like he was preparing for a war or something.

I heard him taking a deep breath and the next thing he did caught me by surprise again.

Sasuke placed both his hands on Neji's neck and started strangling him.

I was so shocked that I became speechless.

It took me a while before I managed to bring out my voice.

"S-Sasuke! What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill him?! I am asking you to wake him up! Not kill the guy!" I was about to stop Sasuke when something suddenly happened.

Neji woke up.

His eyes opened rather quickly and he was coughing due to the strangling.

 _"_ _What is going on?"_ I thought as I stared at Neji, who was trying to comprehend his surroundings.

He looked at Sasuke and spoke, "It's you."

"You're going to be late. Hurry up and get ready." Sasuke spoke as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.

I was still standing at the same spot, watching Neji finally getting out of his bed and heading towards the bathroom.

 _"_ _Do I need to kill him to wake him up? What?"_ I was still confused, obviously.

Sasuke looked at me weirdly, "You looked confused. Why?"

"Because of what you did to wake him up!" I replied. "Did you kill him to wake him up or what?!"

"I didn't kill him, obviously." Sasuke must thought I'm very stupid because he had that look on his face. "I found out that strangling him is one of the quickest ways to wake him up."

I blinked a few times.

"Has he always been like this? Are there no other ways to wake him up?" I found the whole thing to be rather unbelievable.

"He has always been like that. You can try slapping him or pushing him to the floor. Those work as well." Sasuke said and proceeded to leave the room. "As Neji's roommate and partner, I wish you luck."

I guess Sasuke was referring to the rule Sakura talked about last night.

I really didn't want to receive any punishment because Neji wasn't a morning person. Slapping him and pushing him down to the floor weren't exactly effective too. First of all, she really didn't want to slap or strangle him. I mean, what if she accidentally killed him? He might not be that weak but accidents happen all the time! As for pushing him down the floor, even though I considered myself rather strong for a girl, Neji was much bigger and heavier than me. Pushing him would take up too much energy and time, hence, it wasn't an effective plan.

Asking Sasuke to wake Neji up every morning wasn't a good idea too. I doubt Sasuke would agree to it anyway.

 _"_ _I need a plan."_ I sighed at that thought.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

"You still look very pissed off." I said when Tenten and I were eating breakfast.

"Yes, Neji. I am still pissed off." Tenten answered without looking at me.

I found out that Tenten had a difficult time waking me up this morning. She even asked Sasuke to help her out. I knew waking me up was never easy. Back home, it was Kenshin-san who wakes me up. He was my personal butler since I was born so he was one of the very few who was able to easily wake me up.

I was actually surprised Tenten didn't leave me in the room. That was when I found out about the rule which caused Tenten to be so annoyed.

I cleared my throat and said, "Tenten. I will try my best to wake up on time from now on."

Tenten glared at me, obviously showing that she didn't believe I could do so.

Well, honestly, I also felt that it would be difficult for me to do so.

It annoyed me as well, knowing that one of my greatest weaknesses was not being able to wake up easily.

"Before I can think of a plan of my own, I will stick to strangling you every morning." Tenten said that while giving me death glares.

I looked at her apologetically before finishing my breakfast.

After filling up her stomach, Tenten looked less upset. She went back to her usual talkative self when we were on our way to the main hall. There was a general assembly that morning. Since Tenten and I were late for breakfast, all of our classmates went ahead of us.

We weren't late at least.

"You know, Neji." Tenten said. "I still cannot believe that you are less of a morning person than Naruto."

I didn't know why but I felt insulted. My glare intensified when Tenten started laughing.

"Anyway, have you thought of what extra-curricular activity to join?" Tenten asked after she managed to stop laughing.

I actually haven't given it much thought. We were allowed to take part in two extra-curricular activities, which was a pretty good thing I guess.

"I don't know." I answered. "How about you?"

Tenten smiled, "I am planning to join the archery club!"

"Archery?" I looked at her questioningly. "Why?"

"I have always loved archery!" Tenten had a sudden burst of excitement. "I had been doing archery since I was young."

"I see. Will you join another club besides that then?"

"Right, we can join two. I haven't thought about it. I'll think about it today. We need to sign up by tomorrow evening. So we must decide by tonight."

"There isn't much time left then." I should probably start thinking about it now.

"Yeah." Tenten rolled her eyes. "The list of clubs was given to us when we enrolled but I didn't give it much thought before."

"Same here."

"We can discuss it again later! Oh, I heard there is a really nice dessert place nearby. We should go! Orientation ends at 6 PM today so we are free at night!" Tenten sounded like an overactive child.

"I don't like desserts." I answered.

Tenten stopped walking and looked shocked, "You don't like desserts?! Why?!"

"I just don't."

"I don't care! You're coming with me! I'm going to prove to you that desserts are nice! Especially this one since everyone says so!"

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

It seemed like arguing with her wouldn't change her mind, anyway.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

We arrived at the main hall on time. We started looking for our classmates since we were supposed to sit with them. I saw Sakura waving at us. Apparently, we were assigned to sit at the front row.

"You're just on time." Sakura said with a smile.

"Yeah, glad we made it. Why are we on the first row? Feels kind of awkward." I said since I could feel people staring at us.

There was a huge stage in front of us and the teachers were sitting at the right side of the stage. The hall was so big that it managed to accommodate all students, teachers and staff of Konoha Academy.

"Bet you're feeling awkward because of all the stares." Sakura whispered.

"Exactly. What's with all the stares?" I noticed that since Neji and I entered the hall, people had been staring at us. It was as if they looked up to us or something.

"That's because we're from section A." Sasuke, who was sitting beside Sakura, answered.

 _"_ _Ah, that made sense."_ I thought. Being in section A means that we were the best or something like that. Maybe that was why everyone was staring.

"Well, better get used to it then." Sakura said.

Soon, Tsunade-san was on stage giving a speech. It was rather boring actually and I tried my best not to yawn that much. From the corner of my eye, I saw Shikamaru dozing off and Ino was trying to keep him awake.

When Tsunade-san finished her speech, everyone gave a big round of applause. We were then asked to go to our respective classrooms.

On our way out of the hall, we heard people talking about us.

"Those are from section A, right?" A girl asked her friend.

"So those must be the best in our batch then." A heard a guy said.

"Hey, isn't that Neji Hyuuga? He's so hot!" I heard another girl said.

"Sasuke Uchiha is hot too." I heard girls giggling.

I tried not to laugh and whispered to Neji, "Hey, you're popular."

Neji rolled his eyes and didn't even respond.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

We were walking back to our classrooms and it was obvious that people were talking about us.

I ignored Tenten who said I was popular because I didn't really care about that.

A guy said something that caught my attention.

"That's Tenten! She is so cute!"

"Yeah, I know right. I follow her on Instagram as well. She's so adorable!"

Tenten must've heard those two guys speaking because she had a funny look on her face. She whispered to me, "It seems that I'm rather popular myself."

I smirked at her and continued walking to our classroom.

Our homeroom teacher turns out to be Kakashi-sensei himself.

"Looks like I'll be seeing all of you a lot from now on." Kakashi said when he entered our class. He was fifteen minutes late though.

The seats in the classroom were arranged in twos and Kakashi-sensei told us that we were supposed to sit with our roommate. Since there weren't a lot of us in the classroom, it felt very spacious.

"Now that everyone's settled down, I'll start explaining what the orientation will be like." Kakashi said. "For today, there isn't much to do actually. Today is more like the day we allow everyone to settle down. From now until lunch time, I'll give a tour around the school. It's best that everyone gets familiar with the way around here. Any questions so far?"

Kakashi noticed that nobody had any questions and continued, "Alright then, let's go."

I noticed that it was 9 AM and lunch was at 12 PM.

"Three hours of tour. Wow, that is a long time." Tenten said what I was thinking of as she stood up to follow Kakashi.

"The school is huge, after all." I answered and stood up as well.

 _"_ _I might as well pay attention to the tour. I definitely wouldn't want to get lost in this place."_ I thought to myself as I left the classroom.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

The tour ended a few minutes before 12 PM so Kakashi-sensei allowed us to have an early lunch.

I was hanging out with Sakura, Ino and Hinata in the classroom. We finished our meal and were just chatting. All the boys weren't there so it was just us. I wasn't sure where they went though.

"Tenten." Hinata suddenly called out to me with an amused look on her face.

I raised an eyebrow at her since I didn't understand why she was giving me that face.

"How did you feel waking Neji nii-san up?"

My eyes grew wide at that question while Sakura and Ino looked confused.

"It was horrible!" I yelled. "I didn't know it was so difficult to wake him up! It was as if he was dead or something!"

"Wait, what? Neji isn't a morning person? I thought he is!" Ino said, looking shocked.

"I didn't expect that as well." Sakura said. "Oh, that reminds me. Did you happen to ask Sasuke to help you out?"

"Yes, I did." I said with a sigh. "I was desperate and didn't know what to do. Since Sasuke is right next door, I asked him for help."

"No wonder. I heard your voice when I was in the bathroom. I thought I heard wrongly." Sakura said.

"Neji nii-san has always been like that. Sorry about that, Tenten." Hinata looked apologetic now.

"You don't have to apologize for that annoying cousin of yours, Hinata! Right now I need to come up with a plan to wake him up." I sighed again.

"How did Sasuke did it?" Sakura asked with a curious tone.

"He strangled Neji."

"Seriously?!" Ino exclaimed. "Was he trying to kill the guy?!"

"That's what I thought too! I was so shocked! I'm not going to do that to wake Neji up, though. I mean, what if I accidentally kill him?!" I was still rather shocked about the event that morning.

"I think it should be fine." Hinata said.

"I still don't want to take the risk. Sasuke suggested slapping him or pushing him down the floor. But I believe that I can come up with more effective ways." I began thinking right afterwards.

"I don't think those are good ideas. Plus, doing that early in the morning seems tiring, don't you think?" Sakura said and laughed a little.

"Exactly! I'm not that much of a morning person. I'm not a fan of doing exercises right after I wake up! Help me think of something, guys." I gave them a sad look.

Ino looked like she was deep in thought and suddenly exclaimed, "I know! Why don't you kiss him, Tenten?"

There was silence for a few moments after Ino said that.

I blinked a few times at the blonde girl, "K-Kiss?"

"Yes, kiss." Ino repeated, as if it wasn't something unusual. "You should give it a try. It might work! It'll be great if it works, you know! You don't have to use much energy and you get to kiss a hot guy almost every morning! You're killing lots of birds with one stone! Or one kiss, to be exact."

"I will not do that!" I stood up from my chair. "Never!"

"Why not?! Just kiss him on the cheeks or something!" Ino argued.

By then, Hinata's face was red and all she could do was looking down at her hands.

Sakura was rubbing her chin as she thought, "You know, Tenten. It might work."

"Not you too, Sakura!" I yelled once again.

"It's worth a shot." Sakura said, looking convinced it was a good idea.

"Y-Yeah, Tenten." Hinata spoke, still looking rather embarrassed. "Neji nii-san never had a girlfriend so I assume he might never kiss before. Perhaps a kiss can wake him up."

"See, it might actually work since he is inexperienced with kissing!" Ino looked even more confident now.

"You guys are serious?" I asked, with a desperate tone.

"Yes. Just give it a try." Sakura said.

"Hang on." Ino said as if she suddenly thought of something. "Hinata, Neji never had a girlfriend? But he is so hot!"

Hinata's blush came back when Ino said that, "Y-Yeah, he never had one."

"I am actually surprised." Ino said with wide eyes. Then she looked at me with a smirk. "Perhaps Tenten could be his first."

Out of reflex, I threw a notebook at Ino's face.

"What was that for?!" Ino yell.

"For saying what you said!" I couldn't see my own face but I could feel my cheeks burning.

"You're blushing, Tenten." It was Sakura's turn to smirk.

"S-Shut up!" I had been yelling too many times today.

Just then, the boys entered the classroom, including Neji. So I sat down again, not wanting them to have the slightest idea of what we were talking about before they came in.

 _"_ _I doubt someone like Neji would be interested in someone like me, anyway."_ I thought while everyone was going back to their own seats.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

Kakashi-sensei entered our class a few minutes after the others and I came back. I was rather surprised he wasn't as late as usual.

"I hope lunch was great." Kakashi started at he walked to stand in front of all of us. "For the afternoon session, we will be gathering at the gym. There will be some games and you'll compete with the other two sections."

"What?" Kiba said. "But there's so few of us."

During the morning assembly, I also noticed that there were at least three times more students in other sections. "I'm sure you'll all do just fine." Kakashi assured us with a smile.

"I wonder what kind of games it will be." Tenten said.

"No idea." I answered.

"Alright, let's go to the gym now. It'll start in fifteen minutes." Kakashi said that and led us to the gym.

There were already a lot of students in the gym by the time we got there. Just like in the morning, people couldn't stop staring at us.

Ino and Sakura were in front of me and I heard Ino said that the staring made her felt like some sort of superstar. I heard Tenten, who was walking beside me, laughing at what Ino said.

"Doesn't it make you feel like a star, Tenten?!" Ino asked.

Tenten just continued laughing.

Everyone was just standing around, waiting for the event to start.

Fifteen minutes had passed since we left our classroom and I heard someone spoke on the stage at the far end.

"Hello, the blossoming youngsters of Konoha High! Welcome to the annual orientation games! This is going to be so much fun so all of you better bring out that youthful spirit of yours!" A man in green spandex and very bushy eyebrows was talking in a highly enthusiastic tone.

"Why does that man reminds me of Lee?" Tenten commented.

"You're right." I said as I noticed the resemblance.

"I'm Gai! I am your physical education teacher and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone! For now, however, let us start the games!"

There was applause from the crowds and Gai-sensei was beaming weirdly.

"There will be three rounds of games and there will be breaks in between games. The first game is an obstacle course! The obstacles are changed every year and it is always a surprise. So let's see what this year brings us! Each section should choose eight people, four boys and four girls. I will give you five minutes to choose!"

Kakashi turned to us and said, "Well, since there are only four girls in section A, they have no choice but to all join. To be fair, I prepared a lucky draw. Just in case there isn't enough volunteers."

 _"_ _Oh, great."_ I thought as I watched Kakashi-sensei taking out a transparent box with papers inside. I assumed the papers had our names written on them.

Kakashi-sensei took four papers from the box and read out the names, "Let's see. We have Sasuke, Kiba, Hinata and Shikamaru. Since Hinata is already a representative, I'll pick out another paper." Kakashi took another paper and read it out loud, "Oh, we have Neji. Okay, it's settled now."

"Troublesome." I heard Shikamaru said, sounding like he just woke up from a nap.

"What kind of obstacles were there in the previous years, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Well, let me think." Kakashi looked like he was deep in thought. "Last year, they had the students do embarrassing things like doing stupid dances or asking them to sing ridiculous songs. There was also once when the students were given limited ingredients but were asked to cook up something. You know, stuffs like those."

"Those sound pretty unusual for an obstacle course." Tenten said.

"It is Konoha Academy. There are a lot of unusual things going on in here." Kakashi said.

"Alright, may I ask all representatives to gather in front of the stage?" Gai-sensei said in that rather disturbing energetic voice of his.

When the representatives were all gather already, Gai-sensei counted us to check if it was the correct number of people and continued giving instructions, "The obstacle course will be held at the outdoor track field. The other students can watch from the seats at the sides. Without further ado, let's all head there!"

Gai-sensei led all the first year students to the outdoor track field, which wasn't so far from the gym. We were asked to stand at the starting line of the track field while other students were finding seats for themselves. Again, the seats were divided according to sections. That was why I saw my classmates at the best seats in front together with Kakashi-sensei. Other teachers were also present there and I even noticed Tsunade-san and Shizune-san.

Gai-sensei was still holding his wireless microphone when he announced, "Each stop along the obstacle course has a person who will be reading out the obstacle. Each representative is only allowed to play once. If all the representatives are ready, we will be beginning the game soon! At the count of three, we will officially start the game!"

"Let's do our best, guys!" Ino yelled.

"Three, two, one, go!"

 _"_ _Since I'm part of this, might as well win this."_ I thought as we all ran to the first stop.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed the story so far! Please leave a review so I know what my readers are thinking. Feel free to give suggestions so I can continue improving. Sorry for any mistakes I made throughout the story. Thanks for reading, everyone!


	3. Her Sweet Smile

Author's Note: I would like to use this chance to thank everyone who continued reading! I will keep on working hard to make the story even better!

By the way, there is a sexual joke in this chapter. Just a short one. It's a warning just in case some of you are offended by these sexual jokes.

Enjoy reading!

Chapter 3: Her Sweet Smile

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

The first stop of the obstacle course had a piano and violin. The person who was stationed there had a wireless microphone with her and she read the instructions once everyone was there.

"Welcome to the first stage, everyone!" She said enthusiastically. She held a box up with one of her hands and continued talking, "In this stage, I will randomly pick a paper from this box. In this box, there are papers with classical music written on them. Whoever from the three sections who can play the music I announced will be able to proceed to the next stage. However, two representatives from each section must come up here. One of you will play the song in the piano and the other with the violin. You have to be able to play the whole song or you wouldn't be allowed to proceed. Is everything clear?"

When the person saw that nobody had questions, she took a paper out from the box. She then read out what was written on it, "Flight of the Bumblebee!"

I heard a lot of shocked reactions from the other participants and even from the audience. Flight of the Bumblebee was known to be a difficult song, after all. As for Sasuke and I, we looked at each other and smirked.

The two of us went up to the piano and violin with a confident aura around us. Even our classmates looked rather shocked.

I sat in front of the piano while Sasuke positioned the violin onto his shoulder.

Needless to say, we played the song perfectly and beautifully.

We used to have piano lessons together but Sasuke wasn't very interested and switched to learning violin. Whenever we hang out, we often played music together. Luckily, Flight of the Bumblebee was a song we enjoyed playing.

The crowds were cheering loudly after we were done. I saw my classmates looking very impressed and Tenten was grinning at us. We quickly head to the second stage after Sasuke placed the violin back to where he got it.

"I didn't know you're so good with the piano!" I heard Tenten said when we were on our way to the second stage.

"I had lessons." I said with a confident smirk on my face.

At the next stage, there was a scary dog being kept inside a cage. It was barking and was obviously looking rather pissed.

"This doesn't look good." I heard Sakura said.

"Congratulations for passing the first stage! In this stage, you can only pass if you managed to make this adorable dog sit. However, you are not allowed to use any objects. If you are ready, please have one representative come up here!"

"What in the world?! That dog is definitely not adorable!" Ino screamed and took a step back.

"This is rather dangerous, isn't it?" Hinata said timidly.

"Leave it me guys! This is easy!" Kiba said with overflowing confidence and went up onto the stage.

The man beside the dog opened the cage when Kiba was already standing in front of it.

"Oh no, Kiba is going to die." I heard Tenten said as she tensed up when the dog started walking out of the cage.

"The dog will eat Kiba. What should we do?!" Ino was still screaming and took more steps backwards.

"Relax, guys. Kiba looks so confident. I'm sure he knows what to do." Sakura said, trying to calm her friends down.

Just then, Kiba was grinning and squatted down so he was eye levels with the dog, "Hey there, buddy! Come over here and let me take a good look at you."

"What?!" I heard Ino screamed at an even louder voice.

"I-Is he out of his mind?!" Tenten was panicking and ran to where Ino was. The two of them were holding onto each other as they watched the dog walked towards Kiba, still looking scary.

"You're so adorable. I won't hurt you so relax." Kiba said and reached out for the approaching dog.

While everyone looked tensed and scared for Kiba, the dog's expressions suddenly softened.

The dog, which looked like he was about to eat Kiba a few moments ago, went directly into Kiba's embrace and was playing with him.

"What just happened?" Tenten let go of Ino and walked nearer to the stage to take a better look.

"It appears that they are hugging." I stated the obvious because I wasn't quite sure what caused the sudden turn of events.

"Now be a good boy and sit down, buddy!" Kiba said again. Magically, the dog listened and sat down like an angel.

"What am I seeing? Am I dreaming?" Ino was standing beside Tenten when she said that, all the nervousness she had earlier was completely gone.

Kiba waved goodbye to the dog as it was brought back to the cage and went back to his classmates.

When we were walking towards the next stage, Tenten spoke, "That was so cool, Kiba! How did you do that?"

Kiba looked as if he didn't do something impressive and answered, "Well, I have a lot of pet dogs at home. Some of them are even scarier than the one just now. So, that challenge earlier was quite easy."

"Easy?!" Ino exclaimed. "Unbelievable!"

When we reached the next stage, I could still hear Tenten and Ino telling Kiba he wasn't normal and was out of his mind. They stopped talking once the person in charge of the third stage spoke.

"Congratulations for making it here! In this stage, you'll be having a pop quiz! A male and female representative must come up here to take the quiz. You can only pass if you get 60% of the questions right. The questions were given randomly and could be from any subject! So, may I have the representatives up here on stage?"

"This is definitely not my thing." Ino said and backed away. "Shikamaru should go! He is a genius!"

Shikamaru sighed and walked up on stage while muttering something that sounded a whole lot like 'troublesome'.

Tenten and Hinata declared that they would be totally useless in this stage and backed away too. Sakura shrugged and got up the stage with Shikamaru with no complains.

Once the two representatives were on stage, more instructions were given.

"There are a total of twenty questions. The two of you will take turns to answer. No discussions are allowed. The guy will go first. Here it goes!"

When the first question was asked, I knew that this pop quiz will be very difficult. It was a mathematics question and before I managed to mentally calculate the answer, Shikamaru had already answered it.

"Correct!"

"It took him only five seconds to think?! What is he?!" Kiba said in a surprised tone.

"Not surprising though. He does have an IQ of over 200." Ino said, not looking as impressed as Kiba was.

"What?!" Tenten exclaimed. "He is a genius!"

I was honestly very impressed. He had heard about Shikamaru being very intelligent despite his laziness but this was beyond what he had expected.

The next question was on biology and again, it was a difficult question. I suspect that the question was college-level. However, Sakura managed to answer it perfectly.

"I heard Sakura is a biology genius. She wants to become a doctor one day." Hinata said when she saw Tenten looking extremely shocked.

"That is so cool! It was as if she answered without thinking!" Tenten said.

The pop quiz ended much faster than expected and we could see that the person reading out the questions was extremely amazed.

"W-Wow. You guys finished the pop quiz in such a short time." The person quickly regained her composure. "The representatives of section A got all questions right! A perfect score! Please proceed to the next stage!"

The crowds were cheering as we head towards the next challenge.

"You got yourself a smart roommate." I said to Sasuke when I saw him walking next to me.

"I sure did. I'm impressed." Sasuke said as he walked with his hands in his pockets.

The next stage was archery and it was clear that Tenten was excited.

"You guys sure made it far in such a short time!" The person in the stage announced. "This time, it is archery! You are given ten chances and can only proceed when you hit the bull's eye six times. May I have one representative up here?"

Tenten jumped onto the stage and said, "Leave it to me, guys!"

She confidently took the bow and started aiming. I wasn't hiding the fact that I was very impressed when Tenten managed to hit the bull's eye ten times in a row at an incredible speed. Even the person stationed there was speechless.

Tenten got off the stage after returning the bow and was grinning happily, "Let's go!"

She looked as if she did nothing special. The rest of us were just staring at her with blank expressions.

Tenten blinked a few times in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"T-That was crazy!" Ino was the first to speak up.

I heard the person on stage speaking as we started moving, "That was the most amazing archery skill I have ever witnessed!"

The crowds were cheering loudly and I saw Tenten blushing at the sudden attention on her.

I smiled and patted her shoulder, "That was incredible, Tenten. Great job."

I saw Tenten's blush deepened and she shyly replied, "T-Thanks."

Kiba was still asking Tenten how her archery skills were so good when we reached the next stage. It was apparently the last stage.

"Wow, this is ending pretty fast." Sakura said.

"Welcome to the last stage! You guys sure are fast. The last stage is somehow like the pop quiz you had earlier. But this time, we will be focusing on songs! I want the last two representatives to come up on stage."

Hinata and Ino went up on stage and more instructions were given.

"There will be four questions. Each of you will answer two questions. I will give you the title of a song and you must sing it. You must sing the whole song, by the way! You can only be passed if two out of four songs are sung correctly!"

Ino said she will answer first and the first question definitely caught me off guard.

Ino was supposed to sing Eminem's Love the Way You Lie, including the rapping part.

"Can Ino do that?" Kiba asked.

"She can. She is a great singer. She can rap very well too." Shikamaru answered lazily.

He was right. Ino sang the whole song flawlessly and her rapping skills were incredible. The crowds were cheering for her as she sang.

Hinata did well too. She beautifully sang Adele's Hello. She managed to reach the high notes without any problems.

"Those two are good, aren't they?" Sakura said.

"Definitely!" Tenten replied. She couldn't take her eyes of the two singers on stage.

Hinata and Ino got all questions correct, which didn't surprise me.

The crowds gave us a huge round of applause as we walked towards Gai-sensei who was standing at the finish line.

"Incredible indeed! All of you have such youthful passions! You guys are probably the first ones to finish this obstacle course in such a short time! Go on and take a break. The next game will start in thirty minutes! Congratulations, section A!"

The crowds were leaving the track field as we also head towards the gym. When we met up with our other classmates who didn't participate in the obstacle course, they told us that the other sections didn't make it to the last stage. Section C was disqualified at the stage where we were supposed to make the dog sit. As for section B, they were disqualified at the archery stage.

We sat in a circle inside the gym and Kakashi brought a box of mineral water.

"Congratulations. You made it until the end." Kakashi said. "The obstacle course is usually the difficult one. The next two games are usually easy and pretty relaxed. Oh, and since you guys made it through the obstacle course in such a short period of time, today's activities might end before 6 PM."

"Great!" Ino exclaimed as she opened a bottle of mineral water.

We were just chatting as we rested when two boys timidly approached Tenten.

"T-Tenten-san. Sorry for disturbing." One of the boys stuttered nervously. Tenten stood up and smiled warmly at them. She probably realized the two boys were nervous and didn't want them to feel more uncomfortable.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Tenten asked.

"We just wanted to say you were so cool back there!" The other boy exclaimed. "Your archery skills were as amazing as rumored."

"Thank you!" Tenten said and seemed very happy to hear the compliments.

"S-See you around, Tenten-san! You did great!" The two boys quickly left, nervousness were still evident on their faces.

"Wow, Tenten. You have fans." Sakura said as Tenten went back to sit on the floor.

"Stop teasing me, Sakura!" Tenten scolded but her smile didn't help her hide her happiness.

Gai-sensei caught our attention when break was over. Just like what Kakashi-sensei said, the next two games were pretty chilled. The second and third games were tug-of-wars. It was the boys' turn first before the girls. Ten boys were asked to be representatives from each section.

There were only eight boys in our section and the girls weren't allowed to join. However, despite only having eight of us, we won the second game as well.

It was obvious that Gai-sensei himself was rather impressed.

As for the last round, ten girls were supposed to be representatives. Unfortunately, there were only four girls in section A. Ino was obviously pissed but Hinata calmed her down by saying we didn't have to win.

Surprisingly, our section won again. Apparently, Sakura had unusual monstrous strength and she didn't have to break a sweat to beat the girls from the other sections.

"Let me give you an advice. Don't piss your roommate off." I said to Sasuke, who was clearly in shock.

"I will definitely keep that in mind." Sasuke replied back.

It was 5.30 PM when the games ended and we were asked to return to our respective classrooms.

When we were back to our classrooms, Kakashi explained about our activities tomorrow, "Congratulations for winning all three games. All of you were impressive. Anyway, tomorrow is Sunday, which is also the last day of orientation. Each section will do things differently so you'll only be with your classmates."

"So what will we be doing, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked with a playful grin on his face.

"We're going to a resort." Kakashi-sensei answered with a smile under his mask.

"Awesome! We're going to the beach!" Kiba couldn't hide his excitement.

"We're just going to relax and have fun there. We'll meet up at the main lobby at 8 AM and use one of the school buses to go to the resort. Since it is a resort, remember to bring your swimwear. Oh, bring extra clothes too. We'll be staying for a night there." Kakashi-sensei explained.

"We're staying for a night? Don't we have school on Monday?" Sakura asked, obviously confused.

"Tsunade-san decided to allow you guys to stay at the resort for a night. It is a reward for winning all three games earlier. That is why you won't be having any classes on Monday. It is her way to congratulate you. We'll be returning to the school after having lunch at the resort on Monday." Kakashi was looking like a proud teacher.

"Sweet!" Naruto jumped out of his seat from excessive excitement.

"Alright, you are all dismissed. See you tomorrow morning. Don't be late." Kakashi-sensei left the classroom afterwards.

"He better not be late." I heard Tenten said. She then turned to face me, "Hey, Neji! Don't forget that we're going out to have desserts after this."

"Are we having desserts for dinner?" I asked.

"I heard they sell other food besides desserts."

"Alright then." I replied.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke waving at me.

"I'll go talk to Sasuke first. Meet you back at the room." I said and left to see what Sasuke wanted from me.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

"Sure!" I replied as Neji walked to where Sasuke and the other boys were.

When I was outside the classroom, I realized that the other girls were waiting for me. We decided to walk back to the dormitory together.

"We're free for today!" Ino exclaimed and stretched herself. "Let's watch a movie at the common room."

"That sounds like a great idea. We can watch the X-men series. I heard it is really good." Sakura suggested.

"Sorry, guys." I looked at them apologetically. "I can't join tonight."

"Why?!" Ino sounded disappointed.

"I'm going out." I replied.

"Are you going out with a date with Neji nii-san?" Hinata said happily and I saw her eyes sparkled.

"W-What are you saying, Hinata?! I am going out with Neji but it is not a date!" I couldn't see my face but I was sure my cheeks were burning red.

"Oh my, Tenten. The two of you just met and things are going so fast." Ino said with a creepy smirk on her face.

"I-It is not like that! It is just a normal dinner with my roommate!" I tried explaining myself but the three of them didn't believe me at all.

"You don't have to be shy, Tenten." Sakura said and put an arm around my shoulder. "Have fun."

"Be 'safe'." Ino said, emphasizing on the word 'safe'. "Do you need some 'protection'?" This time, she emphasized on 'protection'.

I felt my cheeks burning even more and I didn't even know that was possible.

"S-Shut up, Ino!" I screamed and tried to hide my burning face.

When I saw my room, I quickly ran to the door and entered. If I heard any more teasing, my cheeks will burn even more.

When I was looking through my wardrobe to decide what to wear tonight, my embarrassment slowly faded away.

I changed into a casual dress. It was a simple soft pink dress that reaches a few centimeters above my knees. There was some floral pattern at the end of the dress. It wasn't too short and I felt comfortable in it. I wore a necklace that had a small butterfly pendant. This necklace was a present from my parents when I turned three years old. I treasured this necklace even more after my parents passed away.

I held onto the pendant and smiled as I thought of my parents.

It was then when the door opened and Neji entered.

I saw his eyes widened when he looked at me.

I suddenly felt nervous under his gaze, "W-What's wrong? Do I look weird?"

Neji snapped out of his staring and answered, "N-Not at all. You look great."

I thought I was imagining things when I saw a small blush on his cheeks.

"Thanks." I said with a smile on my face.

"I'll change and we can go." Neji said as he put his bag down before going through his wardrobe.

I sat down on my bed and watched him looking through his clothes. He took out a light blue blouse and a pair of black pants. What he did next surprised me.

He took his shirt right in front of me.

"W-What are you doing?!" I stood up from my bed and shouted in reflex.

Neji had already took off his shirt and looked at me with one eyebrow raised in confusion.

"You should change in the bathroom if I'm around!" I said as I tried not to stare at his perfectly toned chest and abs.

He must had noticed my blushing face because he was smirking at me, "I thought you like to see this."

I looked at him in shock. Well, yes, I found him really sexy. But my heart was definitely not strong enough to see him shirtless all the time. Even at that moment, my heart was pounding so fast.

I took his blouse and pants and threw it to his arms. I then pushed him into the bathroom without saying anything else. My heart was pounding too fast and I couldn't think straight. My instincts told me to just push him into the bathroom.

"Stupid Neji!" I shouted and I heard him laughed as he changed inside the bathroom.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

I looked at Tenten as we walked to the restaurant she talked about. I must admit she looked pretty and that was why I was shocked when I entered the room earlier.

I guess I didn't expect her to have a feminine side.

We arrived in the restaurant shortly and we were shown to a seat by the window.

The restaurant was decorated nicely and was rather crowded. Tenten wasn't joking when she said this place was popular.

We looked through the menu and told the waitress our orders. She left and took the menus from us.

"I hope the food is as good as people say!" Tenten said.

I just smiled at her, taking note on how happy she was.

That was when I noticed the necklace she was wearing.

"That's a beautiful necklace." I commented.

Tenten seemed surprise to hear me say that. She held the pendant in one of her hands and smiled at me. Her smile was genuine yet there was sadness in it.

"Thanks. It is a gift from my parents when I turned three years old." There was still sadness in her tone and smile. She continued talking after a short pause, "My parents passed away in a car accident when I was seven years old. Since then, I treasured this necklace even more than I already had."

I was shocked to hear what she said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

The sadness slowly left her eyes and her usual smile came back, "It's alright!"

"So, who had been taking care of you since then?" I asked. I didn't expect such a tragedy to happen to Tenten. Perhaps it was because she was such a cheerful and happy girl. It was like her life was perfect.

"My older brother, my butlers and maids from my household. All of them took great care of me! My butlers and maids were like family to me. As for my older brother, he is currently in his second year at Konoha University."

"I see." I smiled at her. Tenten was sure a strong person to be able to stay so cheerful despite the death of her parents.

"How about you, Neji? Do you have siblings?" Tenten asked.

"I'm an only child. I live together with Hinata's family though so it feels like I have younger sisters."

"Younger sisters? Hinata has a sister?"

"Yes. She has a younger sister named Hanabi."

"I see. So you're like an older brother to them then?"

"In a way. What kind of person is your older brother?" I asked out of curiosity. After all, he took care of Tenten for all these years. He probably played the role of both an older brother and parent.

"He is a great person! He could be over protective sometimes but I know it's because he cares for me a lot. He was the head of our household since our parents passed away. He was just twelve years old that time! But he has always been a mature and responsible person even at a young age. He managed the household well and still performed great at school." Tenten sounded a lot like a proud younger sister.

"He sounds like a great person." I replied.

"He definitely is! I will introduce you to him one day!" Tenten was smiling happily at the idea.

The waitress came back with our drinks and food, which caught Tenten's full attention.

When the waitress left, Tenten took her phone out.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to take some pictures first." Tenten started snapping pictures.

"What is that for?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Done! I'm going to post it on Instagram. Do you have Instagram?"

"I do. I'm not an active user though. Can I eat now?"

"Sure. I'm done taking pictures. What's your Instagram username?"

"nejihyuuga."

Tenten was still on her phone while I started eating the French fries I ordered.

"Wow, you have over 100,000 followers even though you're not an active user. Anyway, I'm tagging you on the picture I'm uploading."

I continued watching Tenten as I ate. I found her cute as she edited the picture she took and smiled happily when she finally uploaded the picture.

My phone had a notification and I assumed it was from Instagram since Tenten said she was tagging him on the picture.

I took my phone out and checked. The picture she took looked great. Almost as if she took it using a professional camera. I liked the picture she tagged me in and checked Tenten's Instagram profile.

"You have more than 800,000 followers. You must be a very active social media user." I said as I started eating the spaghetti.

"Sort of, I guess." Tenten said and put her phone back into her pocket. "So, is the food nice?"

"It is." I answered.

"It must be nice. You almost finished your spaghetti."

"That's because you took a long time using your phone."

Tenten rolled her eyes and started eating the garlic bread she ordered.

We finished our food already when the desserts were served. Tenten ordered a slice of red velvet cake, macaroons and strawberry waffles.

I tried not to show my disinterest towards the desserts but I must have failed to do so. Tenten glared at me and said, "I will prove to you that these desserts are nice! Wait, let me take another picture."

I was hoping she would spend more time taking pictures but she was fast.

"I will post the picture later." Tenten took a fork and tried the red velvet cake. "It's so nice!" She was smiling like a little girl and I found her very cute.

 _"_ _She's even more adorable when she's having dessert."_ I thought and smiled a little.

Tenten cut a tiny piece of the cake and placed it near my mouth.

"What?" I asked.

"What do you mean what? Try it. I promise it is really nice." Tenten gave had a puppy eyes look on her face.

Her expression left me with no choice.

I opened my mouth and let her feed me the red velvet cake.

The dessert turned out to be pretty good.

"It's nice, right?!" Tenten asked, looking like she was not expecting 'no' for answer.

"It's not bad." I answered.

Tenten gave me a fork and I decided to give the other desserts a try. As I was trying the macaroons, I watched Tenten using her phone. She was most probably on Instagram again.

My guess was proven to be right when I received another notification on my phone. She had tagged me on another picture on Instagram with a caption that said 'Proud to have managed to make Neji said the desserts were nice. I can't believe he hated desserts!'.

I liked the picture and put my phone back into my pocket. I went back to the desserts and Tenten, who had a sweet smile on her face.

I smiled as I thought, _"Having Tenten as a classmate and roommate might turn out to be a great thing."_

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 3! Please leave a review and share with me your opinions regarding this story. I will update chapter 4 as soon as possible! Thank you, everyone!


	4. Never Have I Ever

Author's Note: I am so happy to know that there are people who loves this story! I appreciate everyone's continuous support.

P.S. Sexual stuffs are mentioned at the later parts of this chapter. They are not too bad but I'm just giving a warning in case some readers would find it offensive.

Anyway, enjoy chapter 4!

Chapter 4: Never Have I Ever

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I felt proud to be able to meet up with the others at the lobby on time despite my roommate's morning issues.

If you were wondering, I didn't listen to my friends' advice on waking Neji up. I didn't have the courage to bring myself to kiss him.

Instead, I brought out all the strength I had in myself and pushed him off the bed.

I considered it vigorous exercise since I had to do that early in the morning. It annoyed me but I tried not to flare up.

I had to get used to it anyway.

Not surprisingly, Kakashi-sensei was late. I was hanging around with the girls and were just talking about random stuffs when Ino mentioned something surprising.

"Hey, Tenten. A friend of mine messaged me yesterday and she was asking about you." Ino had one of her teasing expressions on.

"That's weird. Who's your friend and what did she ask?" I began wondering if I did something wrong and became a topic for gossips.

"She's a classmate back in junior high school. She asked if you and Neji are dating." When Ino said that, I saw Sakura and Hinata giggling.

"Why would she ask that?!" I found it to be a rather random question to be asked, especially when I had no idea who this girl was.

"She probably thinks the two of you are dating when she saw your latest Instagram posts." Sakura said.

After Sakura mentioned that, it reminded me of some comments people left on the posts which I tagged Neji in. I was scrolling through the comments this morning as I was waiting for Neji to finish showering. Apparently, quite a number of people were asking if we were dating.

I ignored it though.

"People should seriously stop jumping to conclusions!" I exclaimed and rolled my eyes.

Hinata gave me a hug to calm me down, which was a gesture I appreciated.

Just then, Kakashi-sensei finally arrived.

"Sorry for being late. An old lady lost her way around the school and I just had to help her out." Kakashi-sensei's excuse was as lame and unbelievable as usual. I heard Naruto and Kiba calling Kakashi-sensei a liar but he simply ignored it.

"Everyone seems beach ready." Kakashi-sensei commented as he got into the bus which was going to bring us to the resort.

He was right about us being beach ready. All the boys wore t-shirts and shorts while we girls wore casual sundresses. I loved the yellow dress I was wearing since it was comfortable to be worn as well.

It took almost an hour to reach the resort from school. When we arrived, I instantly recognized the place.

"I've been here before!" I said as I looked out from the window. It was the best resort in Japan and it was an absolutely gorgeous place. I had only been here once and it was with my parents and brother. That was a long time ago and I was only six years old, so the memories I had of this place was vague.

"It's such a pretty place." Hinata was sitting beside me and she was looking out from the window as well. We caught a glimpse of the beach and the white sands looked so soft.

When the bus stopped and the door opened, Naruto and Kiba were the first ones to run out. Kakashi-sensei caught them by their shirts and pulled them back. After the bus left us, Kakashi-sensei started talking.

"I'll firstly bring you all to the villa so you can put your stuffs down. It's still too early to have lunch so perhaps you guys would want to head down to the beach after leaving the villa." Kakashi-sensei led the way to one of the villas nearby.

My excitement grew when I entered the villa we were staying for the night. It was spacious and perfectly decorated. The floors were made of pine wood and the walls were painted white. The living room had a plasma TV and sofas. The kitchen was huge and there was even a bar.

I followed Ino to the second floor, where there were three big rooms. It was perfect for the twelve of us since four could perfectly fit in each room.

"I guess Kakashi-sensei can join one of the boys' rooms." Ino said as she walked back to the first floor.

"There are three rooms upstairs. It's perfect for the twelve of you. That's why I got this villa in the first place." Kakashi-sensei said as he sat down on the sofa at the living room.

"What about you, Kakashi-sensei?" I asked.

"Oh, I won't be staying here for the night. I actually need to go back to school after lunch. I have work to do back there." Kakashi-sensei explained. It was then when I noticed he didn't have any bags with him.

Naruto was talking about how difficult the life of an adult was, which made Kakashi-sensei smile under his mask.

When the girls and I were inside our room, Ino brought out a selfie stick.

"Look what I brought, girls!"

Sakura laughed and said, "We could always count on you to remember to bring things like those, Ino."

Earlier, the boys suggested we should just hang around the beach first before lunch. We would go swim and play water sports after lunch. It wasn't comfortable to eat while we were dripping wet, after all.

I only brought my phone with me and left the room together with the girls. I didn't bother bringing my wallet because Kakashi-sensei said the school was paying for everything.

"Let's go all out and have fun, guys! The school's paying for everything!" I heard Naruto screaming that out loud as he ran downstairs to where Kakashi-sensei was waiting for us.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

The sea breeze and the sounds of the waves relaxed my whole body. The sight in front of me would be capable of calming even the most furious people if Naruto wasn't there shouting his lungs out.

We just arrived at the beach when Ino suggested a group picture using the selfie stick she brought along.

"Come on, guys! Gather around! We should take a group picture before Kakashi-sensei leaves." Ino caught the attention of all twelve of us and Kakashi-sensei with her high pitch loud voice.

All of us gathered together and squeezed to fit into the screen. The beach became the background, which made the picture we took really nice.

"Done!" Ino said as she took her phone to check the pictures we took. "Can all of you give me your phone numbers? I'll create a WhatsApp group and send the picture there. You too, Kakashi-sensei!"

After I gave Ino my phone number, Sasuke came to me and said, "Hey, Neji. Do you remember Keita Takahashi?"

"I do. We used to play basketball with him during weekends sometimes. What about him?" I answered.

Sasuke looked around, as if checking if others could hear us or not. When he saw that nobody could hear them, he continued, "He sent me a message last night and asked if you are dating Tenten."

"What?" I said that in reflex. "Why would he ask that?"

"Most probably because he saw Tenten's latest Instagram posts."

"Tell him not to assume things so fast." I said and sighed. The biggest problem I had with social media was that people often jump to conclusions easily without knowing the whole story. It annoyed me sometimes.

We didn't continue our conversation afterwards because Naruto started pulling us to a coconut tree by the beach. Apparently, Kiba was trying to climb up to get one of the coconuts down.

He was lucky he didn't fall and hit his head onto the sand.

We boys spent most of our time waiting for Kiba to fall while the girls were soaking her feet by the beach. When it was 11 AM, Kakashi-sensei led us to the restaurant where we would have our lunch.

Fresh seafood was served and it tasted better than I had expected. Naruto and Kiba were about to start a ridiculous competition to see who could eat more crabs. Kakashi-sensei stopped it from happening by reminding them that they shouldn't be too full if they wanted to swim afterwards.

It was almost 12 PM when we finished our lunch and Kakashi-sensei announced that he had to leave. He told us that we just need to show the staffs our student ID card and we could eat and do things without paying.

Before he left, he told us that the same bus will come pick us up tomorrow after lunch.

"Alright! The last one to reach the beach is a rotten egg!" Naruto declared but the only people who cared about the competition he started was Kiba and Lee.

The rest of us walked slowly since it was the wise thing to do. We just had lunch and running too much will disturb digestion.

Naruto didn't care, of course.

The resort was large and there were various activities available. Sakura suggested we should just split up and meet up for dinner at 6 PM.

"I was thinking we should have takeouts from the restaurant and bring it back to the villa. It would be fun to eat back there." Sakura suggested.

"Sounds good." Sasuke said.

"I'll tell the others we are meeting up at the restaurant at 6PM through the WhatsApp group." Ino said as she began typing on her phone.

We parted ways with the girls, who said they wanted to check out the other side of the resort.

As for us, we were following Naruto's voice to get to where he was.

The boys and I tried parasailing, which was very pleasant. Sasuke didn't quite agree to that though.

While he was flying across the sky, he was shouting about how he was still too young to die and even confessed that he still dreamed to get married and live a happy life. It was hilarious and Kiba even had it recorded.

We couldn't believe someone like Sasuke was actually afraid of heights. It was probably peer pressure which made him agreed to parasailing.

While some of the others decided to go try out other water sports, I stayed at the beach to watch the sunset. It was a breathtaking view, which I didn't get to see often.

It was then when I received a notification and I took my phone out to see what it was.

It turned out to be Tenten, who sent me a picture of the sunset through WhatsApp. The caption was 'It's so pretty!".

I smiled and I could clearly imagine her saying that. I sent back a picture of the sunset in front of me with a caption that said 'It sure is'.

"Are you texting your girlfriend?" I heard Shikamaru said. He was beside me all along but his voice surprised me because I thought he was sleeping.

"No. It's Tenten." I answered. Another thing that surprised me was the fact that Shikamaru bothered staring a conversation. Such actions should be seen as something troublesome in his eyes.

"She's not your girlfriend?" Shikamaru asked.

What was it with everyone thinking that Tenten and I were dating?

"No." I answered as I tried not to sigh in frustration.

"I see." Shikamaru closed his eyes again and had his arms at the back of his head. "An old friend of mine was asking if you two were dating. He didn't stop sending me messages since last night. Now that I have the answer, I can finally shut that troublesome person up."

"Did he assume we were dating because of Tenten's Instagram posts?" I asked and this time I couldn't stop the sigh from escaping.

"Yeah. Tenten is popular even in the virtual world. It's not a surprise her posts went viral in less than a day." Shikamaru said in a lazy voice.

I sighed again and mentally hoped that people would just stop assuming things without knowing the details.

When the skies got darker, the other guys came back and we walked to the restaurant together.

The girls were already there and had ordered pizza. I didn't really have anything specific I wanted to eat so I left it to Naruto to help us order.

While we were waiting for our orders to be done, Naruto and Kiba ran off somewhere and dragged Sasuke along with them. Sasuke tried to free himself but it was useless.

None of us bothered asking where they were going. It was bothersome to get involved with whatever those two hyperactive boys were up to.

When our orders were done, the three boys came back and each of them had plastic bags on both hands.

"What are those?" I narrowed my eyes at the suspicious plastic bags. I had a bad feeling about the contents.

"You'll see!" Naruto said and started walking back to the villa.

Sasuke looked annoyed and I couldn't help it but smirk at him.

Once we were back at the villa, we took turns showering. There were three bathrooms so the queue wasn't so bad. Some of us were too hungry so we started eating as we waited for our turn to use the shower.

I was sitting on the sofa with Tenten as we ate pizza. She was telling me what she did earlier.

"There is a really cute dessert shop at the other side of the resort! They served cakes that are shaped like animals." Tenten was squealing in delight as she talked about her encounter with adorable cakes.

"That reminds me." Something came to my mind when Tenten mentioned desserts. "It seems like a lot of people thinks we are dating."

Tenten took a bite from the slice of pizza on her hand and sighed, "I know."

"You sure are popular to have everyone talking about you. Even strangers."

Tenten rolled her eyes, "I can't believe everyone jumped to conclusions like that. Even my older brother."

"What about your older brother?" I asked and took another slice of pizza from the box on the coffee table of the living room.

"He sent me a message earlier and asked if you were my boyfriend. He wasn't convinced when I told him you're not. He made quite a fuss and even forced me to send him your phone number. He said he wanted to ask you himself."

I blinked a few times at what Tenten said. Judging from what she was saying, her brother seemed to be rather overprotective.

"Don't worry, I didn't give him your number. He's a nice older brother but he gets overprotective sometimes. It gets annoying. Please just ignore him if he sent you a message or something." Tenten said and finished off the pizza on her hand.

I finished mine too when I heard Sasuke said it was my turn to use the shower.

 _"_ _Time for a warm shower."_ I thought as I headed upstairs to get a new set of clothes and towel.

When I got out from the shower, everyone else was gathered on the floor of the spacious area between the living room and kitchen. The others formed a circle and the plastic bags Naruto, Kiba and Sasuke were holding onto were in the middle. I sat beside Tenten and watched Kiba bringing plastic cups from the kitchen.

"What is this about?" I asked as I made myself comfortable on the floor.

Naruto was grinning suspiciously as he revealed the contents of the plastic bags in the middle.

I rolled my eyes when I saw what they were.

They were alcoholic beverages.

"Let's play drinking games!" Naruto stood up and announced.

"How did you guys manage to get your hands on those?" Sakura's question made sense because we were all underage.

"We made Sasuke flirt with the female staff in charge of selling alcoholic drinks." Kiba said with a foolish grin on his face.

"That's surprising. I don't expect you to be someone who would agree to do that, Sasuke." Sakura was giggling and Sasuke glared at her.

"I was blackmailed." Sasuke replied in an annoyed tone.

 _"_ _The video from earlier was made to good use."_ I thought and tried not to laugh as I remembered the time Sasuke was shouting about getting married as he flew across the blue skies.

"So, what drinking game are we playing?" Tenten asked when Kiba started passing around plastic cups. Naruto opened one of the bottles and poured drinks for all of us.

"It's called 'Never have I ever'." Naruto said while grinning excitedly.

"I have never heard of that." Shikamaru said as he lazily played with the plastic cup on his hand.

"Basically, each of us will take turn saying a statement that starts with 'Never have I ever'. For instance, I would say something I have never done before, like 'Never have I ever kissed Kakashi-sensei'. For those who ever did what I mentioned, must drink!" Naruto explained and went back to sitting down on the floor.

"If nobody has any questions, I will start!" Naruto waited for a few moments to see if anyone still had questions. When nobody spoke, he started the game.

"Alright then! Never have I ever kissed a boy on the lips. Let's all be honest, shall we?"

I obviously never kissed a boy on the lips before so I was safe for the first round. I looked around and was checking who had to drink.

The ones who drank were Tenten, Ino, Sakura and Shino.

Wait, what. Shino?

I wasn't surprised Tenten kissed before. She was an attractive girl so I was sure she had boyfriends before.

I tried to ignore the jealousy which started surfacing inside me.

I tried to ignore it by focusing on Shino, who apparently had kissed a guy before.

It wasn't just me who was surprised because everyone else was staring at Shino.

"I didn't know you like men, Shino." Kiba said in an unusual soft voice.

"It's not like that. It was because of an unfortunate accident that made me kiss another guy." That was the first time I heard Shino spoke and it was about his kiss with another guy.

Shino was an interesting and mysterious person indeed.

The game continued and it was Kiba's turn.

His playful expression made me uncomfortable.

"This is going to be fun. Never have I ever made out in a car."

There was silence at first before Shikamaru and Ino started drinking.

Kiba smirked at Shikamaru and Ino, who were both slightly blushing, "This is awfully suspicious."

Ino rolled her eyes at Kiba while Shikamaru referred him as a troublesome human being.

It was Hinata's turn next and she looked confused as she thought of what to say.

I didn't expect her to say what she decided to say though.

"N-Never have I ever watched pornography."

Tenten, Sakura and Ino laughed out loud while the rest of us stared at Hinata with widened eyes.

Hinata blushed under our gaze and quickly looked away.

I saw Ino drinking after she calmed down from laughing. I drank as well and do did the other boys.

Except Lee.

Lee seemed to be shocked when he saw all of us drinking, "A-All of you watched pornography?! B-But, B-But…"

Lee seemed like he was going to explain why we shouldn't be watching pornography but Naruto cut him off, "It's time for you to grow up and become a normal teenager, Lee."

That was the wisest thing out of Naruto's mouth so far.

The next in turn was Ino, who couldn't control her devilish smile.

"Never have I ever fantasized making out with Sasuke Uchiha."

There was a heavy silence in the air as we all turn our eyes to the shocked Sasuke.

Ino was laughing and from the corner of my eye, I saw Sakura blushing deep shades of red.

The girl with pink hair gave Ino deadly glares before slowing drinking from her cup.

Kiba was the first one to respond, "Another suspicious pairing."

Sakura glared at Kiba as well and it was obvious she was trying not to make any eye contact with her roommate.

 _"_ _Things are going to be interesting between those two."_ I thought as I noticed a slight blush on Sasuke's face as he stared at Sakura.

It was Sakura's turn next and she was going to have her revenge. I had an evil smirk on her face as she spoke.

"Never have I ever had sex with Shikamaru Nara."

Heavy silence once again dominated the atmosphere.

Ino looked like she was going to murder Sakura, who was clearly satisfied with her revenge.

Ino quickly drank from her cup and tried to act cool. It didn't work though since her face was even redder than Sakura's earlier.

Naruto and Kiba were smirking at Shikamaru, who cleared his throat and chose to give no comments or whatsoever.

"One of the suspicious pairings is confirmed to be real." Kiba muttered loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

He ignored the glares he got from Shikamaru and Ino afterwards.

It was Chouji's turn next and we stopped eating his potato chips when he realized that.

"Never have I ever walked in on a girl changing her clothes."

I swore I thought I heard wrongly.

I felt Tenten's glare as I drank from my cup. I wasn't alone though because I saw Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru drinking from their cups as well.

"Accidents like these are common if you have a female roommate." Naruto muttered.

I glared at him when I realized he ever walked in on my cousin when she was changing. Naruto smiled at me apologetically and looked away quickly.

Shikamaru muttered 'troublesome' when it was his turn.

He thought for a while before speaking.

"Never have I ever touched myself for seven days in a row."

"You never did that?!" Naruto exclaimed in shock. He was in for a bigger surprise when he realized it was only him and Kiba who drank.

"You guys should get a life." Kiba said after he drank from his cup.

I looked at Shino since it was his turn afterwards. He seemed to be in deeply in thought before he spoke.

"Never have I ever been in a relationship."

I watched as more than half of the people present drank from their cups. The ones who drank were Tenten, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba and Naruto.

When Naruto and Kiba started asking each other regarding their previous relationships, Lee started his turn.

"Never have I ever visited a club."

I wasn't a fan of clubs but I've been there before. It was with Sasuke actually. He wanted to see how was it like inside and insisted that I should go with him.

I drank along with Sasuke, Tenten, Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Kiba and Shino.

Shino?

That was unexpected.

"Shino, you're full of surprises, aren't you?" Ino commented and laughed at the expressionless Shino. He was definitely unreadable since he always kept his sunglasses and jacket on.

It was Sasuke's turn next and he was playing with his cup as he thought.

"Never have I ever had sex in the shower."

"Seriously?" I heard Ino hissed angrily.

I heard Sakura and Kiba laughed as Shikamaru and Ino drank from their cups.

"The suspicious pairing is confirmed once again." Kiba announced in a dramatic tone.

I realized it was my turn when everyone's eyes were on me. I gave myself a few moments to think first. When my eyes met with Sasuke's, I smirked and spoke.

"Never have I ever made out with someone older."

I instantly felt Sasuke's deadly glare and I tried to control my laughter.

I saw Sasuke rolling his eyes and drank from his cup. The others who drank too were Tenten, Ino, Sakura and Shino.

Wait, Shino?

"How did Sasuke and Shino got involved with older women?" Naruto asked as he laughed together with Kiba. "You two must be good."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to glaring at me. As for Shino, he explained that he hooked up with someone he met during one of his visits to the club.

 _"_ _Sasuke hates to remember the time Karin forced him to make out with her."_ I thought as he smiled at the fuming Sasuke.

I glanced over at Tenten and saw that she was thinking of what to say.

She had a small smile on her face as she spoke.

"Never have I ever fallen in love."

There was something about Tenten's voice that caught my attention. I sensed sadness in her tone and her expressions were different from usual.

She quickly went back to her usual self as she watched Shikamaru and Ino drinking from their cups.

Kiba was laughing once again at the obvious pairing, "Alright, guys. It seems like the suspicious pairing is obviously together."

I watched Tenten laughed cheerfully and it was as if the sadness I sensed from her earlier was just my imagination.

 _"_ _She had never fallen in love even though she was in a relationship before. I have a feeling something happened which had caused the sad smile she had earlier."_ I thought to myself as I glanced at the girl beside me once in a while as we continued the game.

As the night went by, I realized that I was slowly getting attracted to my roommate.

I just couldn't get her out of my mind.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you guys like this chapter! Please review so I know your thoughts on this story. Thank you for reading, everyone!


	5. Brother Complex

Author's Note: I would like to thank those who had left positive reviews! It motivated me to write more and I promise I will update as fast as possible. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy chapter 5 as well!

Chapter 5: Brother Complex

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I woke up with a throbbing head and was feeling nauseous. I felt something soft under me so I assumed I was on a bed. When I felt sunlight penetrating my closed eyes, I knew it was already morning.

Despite the heaviness I felt on my head, I slowly sat up to check the time. The clock on the wall told me it was already 8 AM and I groaned as I left the bed. It was then that I realized my other friends were still asleep. It was still rather early after all.

When I left the room, I found that the whole villa was rather empty and quiet. I guessed everyone had drunk quite a lot last night and decided to sleep more. As for me, my head was hurting too much for me to go back to sleep.

When I walked to the living room, I caught sight of something that shocked me. It took me few moments of silence to digest what I was seeing.

"Good morning."

It was definitely Neji who just greeted her. He was sitting alone on the sofa and was watching TV. And judging from his appearance, he had already taken a shower.

"I'm definitely still dreaming." I muttered to myself unconsciously. Neji heard me though and was narrowing his eyes at me.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Neji asked as he stared at me suspiciously.

"In the real world, there is no way Neji would be able to be the first one to wake up. It is impossible for him to wake up on his own so early in the morning. Yes, I'm sure this is a dream." I continued muttering to myself, ignoring Neji's glares.

"You're not dreaming, Tenten. Can you stop sounding so ridiculous?" Neji rolled his eyes and went back to watching the TV.

I blinked a few time before walking towards Neji. I had to make sure it wasn't a dream so I went ahead and pinched him on the cheek.

"What are you doing?!" Neji winced in pain.

"Oh my goodness, this is not a dream. Why are you awake?!"

Neji rolled his eyes again at my words and explained to me, "My head hurts a lot and I couldn't continue sleeping."

"Same here." I sat beside Neji on the sofa and sighed at the pain on my head.

Neji suddenly placed his hand on my head and I turned to him in surprise.

He had a gentle look in his eyes as he looked at me. I sensed concern when I stared back at him.

"Are you alright? You're kind of pale."

As Neji checked on me, I gulped and felt my face burning up. When his face got closer to mine, I thought my heart was going to burst.

 _"_ _Oh no, what is happening to me? My heart is not strong enough for this. He looks sexier than usual with his hair still damp and all that. Wait, Tenten, what in the world are you thinking?!"_

My thoughts were running wild and I was too stunned to push Neji away.

"Oh, your face is no longer pale." I was beginning to worry that Neji would also notice the fast beating of my heart. "Maybe a warm shower will help ease your headache."

Hearing Neji's suggestion, I abruptly stood up from the sofa and awkwardly excuse myself.

When I was a few steps away from Neji already, I heard him call out to me and I felt stupid when I jumped a little when I heard him say my name.

I turned around, pretending that I wasn't nervous and gave him a smile.

"Let's go for a walk after you showered."

I felt my face burning up even more and quickly ran back to my room after I gave a rushed reply to Neji.

When I was in the bathtub, my thoughts began running wild again.

 _"_ _What was that, Tenten? You were acting like an idiot just now!"_ I mentally scolded myself and sighed as I sank into the warm water in the bathtub.

I wasn't even sure why I was feeling that way. Well, I did admit Neji was absolutely good-looking and all that. He had a great personality too. Despite the fact that it was difficult for me to wake him up in the morning, he was still a rather ideal guy.

I pinched myself on the cheeks as I sank deeper into the warm water again.

 _"_ _Forget it, Tenten. Such a guy will never fall for you."_ I heard myself sighing even louder at that thought. _"Plus, love is never easy."_

My thoughts led me to think about my previous relationship. I dated a guy whom I met at the archery club I often visited back in junior high school. He was a few years older than me and should already be in his first year of university by now. He was a fun person and caring in his own ways. But my feelings for him weren't love. It just didn't feel right so I broke up with him after a few months.

"I wonder, how does it feel like to be in love?" I muttered to myself as I stood up from the bathtub.

Neji suddenly crossed my mind and I felt myself burning up once again despite the cold winds touching my body.

 _"_ _Snap out of it, Tenten!"_ I lost count of the number of times I scolded myself that morning and it wasn't even 9 AM when I got out of my bed.

After I changed into a light blue sundress, I walked back to the living room where Neji was still watching TV.

I took in a deep breath and told myself not to act stupid as I walked to him.

He noticed my presence and turned around to see me, "You're done? Let's go then."

I nodded and followed him out of the villa with only my phone with me.

We decided to stroll around the beach and it felt wonderful. The breeze was gentle and the sounds of the waves crashing onto the beach relaxed my body.

"A morning stroll on the beach is never a bad idea, isn't it?" I walked nearer to the sea and allowed the water to soak my feet. It was a little bit cold but I didn't mind at all.

I heard Neji laughed softly and I turned to glare at me.

"Are you laughing at me?" I narrowed my eyes at him and his laughter became louder.

"Sorry. Just that, you look like an overexcited little kid. It's quite amusing." Neji's honest answer earned himself a kick on the leg from me.

"I'm just joking." Neji smiled at me and ruffled my hair playfully. I let my hair loose since it was still wet and didn't tie them into my signature buns. Neji was stroking my hair when another smile appeared on his face.

"You look nice with your hair down."

I swore, I thought my heart would melt under that gorgeous smile of his. I quickly turned away and hoped he didn't notice the blush on my cheeks.

"Thanks."

I quickly answered and turned back to watch the horizon. It was beautiful and I had a great company with me. I unconsciously smiled as I secretly wished I got to spend happy moments such as this more often from that day on.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

I didn't realize it was already 11.30 AM until Tenten mentioned it. We were supposed to have lunch at 12 PM with the others so we should be heading back to the villa soon. It sure didn't feel like I had just spent more than two hours sitting by the beach and chatting with Tenten.

It was enjoyable, talking to her as we took in the beauty of the beach in front of us. Her smile was sweet and her laughter was contagious. I laughed a lot that morning, much more than usual. I would be beyond happy if I got to spend more time like this with Tenten.

"We should walk back to the villa." I suggested and stood up from the beach chair.

"We should take a picture first!" Tenten took out her phone and pulled me closer to her. Since it was just the two of us at the beach, it made sense that we used the front camera. I wasn't exactly the type to enjoy taking pictures but I didn't mind at all at that moment.

After we took some pictures, Tenten sent them to my through WhatsApp as we walked back to the villa to meet up with our classmates.

When we stepped into the villa, Ino's voice was the first thing we heard.

"Where did the two of you run off to so early in the morning?"

She had a smirk on her face and her tone clearly showed that she was teasing us.

"We went to the beach to take a morning stroll." Tenten answered and I saw a slight blush on her face.

"Oh, a morning date. I see." Ino was definitely enjoying herself as she laughed at Tenten's red cheeks.

"It's just a stroll." Tenten glared at Ino and it was adorable how she tried to look mad despite having red cheeks.

"Stop teasing them, Ino." Sakura said and tried not to laugh too hard at Tenten's facial expressions. "We better head to the restaurant, guys. It's almost 12 PM."

Tenten and I quickly went to get our belongings and joined the others to the restaurant.

I saw Ino continuing to tease Tenten while I was walking at the back with Sasuke.

"Things are progressing fast between the two of you." Sasuke said that out of the blue and I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I pretended to not understand what my best friend was implying and didn't even look at him. At the corner of my eyes, I saw Sasuke smirking and I knew he saw through my lie.

"You like her, don't you?"

Oh my goodness, I was hoping that Sasuke wouldn't ask that question.

"No." I answered in a confident tone. At least, I thought it was.

"Don't lie to me, Neji. I can read what is in your mind easily."

I glared at Sasuke while he just smirked at me again.

 _"_ _Why must Sasuke know me so well?"_ I thought to myself and sighed in defeat.

"Yes, I like it. But it is not like what you think it is." I answered truthfully. I was still unsure whether the feelings I had was love or not. Only time could give me the answers I guessed.

Sasuke and I dropped the topic when we reached the restaurant. The lunch we had was better than yesterday's and everyone seemed to agree with that. When it was already 1 PM, we saw the bus which took us to the resort arriving and we knew it was time to go.

I heard Naruto stupidly said goodbye to the beach as I got into the bus. Most of us were still tired from the first day so a lot of us were asleep throughout the ride. As for me, I enjoyed the rare peace and quiet.

I woke Sasuke up when we reached the school already. When I left the bus, I saw Tenten running towards someone at the school's main lobby.

"Nii-san!"

Tenten hugged a tall man with brown hair, whom I assumed was her older brother. In my opinion, he was good-looking and mature. Apparently, Ino and Sakura seemed to agree with me.

"Oh my goodness. Tenten has a hot older brother." I heard Ino said as she stared at the pair of siblings in front of us.

"I know right." Sakura whispered back and seemed to be unable to take her eyes off Tenten's brother.

Tenten pulled her brother towards us as the bus drove away. She was grinning happily while holding onto her older brother's arm.

"Meet my older brother, guys! These are my classmates, Nii-san."

Tenten's older brother smiled at us and introduced himself.

"A pleasure to meet everyone. My name is Tao."

I saw how everyone was staring at him with admiration and was wondering if it made him feel uncomfortable. Tenten pulled her brother with her as she made her way back to the dorm. The rest of us were also on our way there and I heard Sasuke spoke beside me.

"I was just wondering, does Tenten's older brother know his sister's roommate is a boy?"

That thought didn't cross my mind earlier and I began wondering as well.

"I'm not so sure." I answered.

"I wish you luck." Sasuke said and went inside his room.

I felt my body tensing up when I saw Tenten entering her room with her brother. Something tells me it wasn't going to be an easy afternoon for me.

When I was just a step away from the door of my room, I heard Tao asking Tenten a question I hoped he knew the answer already.

"Who's your roommate, Tenten?"

I heard silence afterwards, which was a bad sign.

 _"_ _Shoots. He doesn't know."_ I thought and unconsciously gulped out of nervousness.

"Oh, about my roommate. You see, Nii-san. I hope you would calmly listen to me and don't be too shocked." Tenten obviously sounded nervous as she began explaining things to her brother. I was in a dilemma and wondered if I should enter the room or not.

But I knew I shouldn't leave Tenten alone to do all the explaining.

I knocked the door a few times before opening the door. I felt weird having to knock on the door of my own room but I knew I had to.

When I opened the door, Tenten and Tao's eyes were on me.

"Hello there." Tao said with a smile. At least Tenten's brother seemed like a nice person. Though the fact that Tenten said her brother was overprotective didn't make me feel better regarding the situation.

"N-Nii-san. Meet Neji Hyuuga!" Tenten was trying to hide her nervousness by being as cheerful as usual.

"Wait, that name sounds familiar. Oh right, aren't you the guy who went on a date with Tenten?!"

I gulped nervously at the word 'date' and was too speechless to explain myself while Tenten was taking in a deep breath before speaking again at a faster pace. "He's my roommate."

There was a dreadful silence in the atmosphere and I wanted to hide inside a hole, which was a feeling I had never felt before.

"What?"

Tao's confused voice broke the silence and I glanced over at Tenten, who was obviously feeling nervous and didn't know what to expect from her older brother.

"I'm Tenten's roommate." I was proud I didn't stutter under Tao's gaze. I didn't know what to expect from him too.

What happened next was definitely something I would have never expected.

"What in the world is going on here?!" Tenten's brother looked as if he was having a mental breakdown, which didn't make me feel better about the situation.

"It's school regulation, Nii-san." Tenten explained everything to her brother while trying to calm him down. From his mature and confident appearance, I didn't expect him to be someone who could experience mental breakdowns.

Well, it involved his precious sister so that was rather understandable I guessed.

Tenten's brother let out a sigh after his sister was done explaining everything. I was startled when he suddenly walked towards me with an unreadable expression on his face.

He took a few moments staring into my eyes and all I could do was standing in place. I didn't even move an inch.

He suddenly laughed, which caught Tenten and I off guard. I blinked in confusion as I watched Tao trying to regain his composure.

"Sorry about that. But you looked so nervous. Don't worry, this isn't your fault so you don't have to look so nervous." Tao smiled to me and I left out a soft sigh of relief.

Tenten sat down on her bed and let all tension leave her body.

Her brother laughed softly at his younger sister and turned to me again.

"I'm warning you, Neji. Don't try to do anything weird to my sister."

"Nii-san! What are you saying?!" I saw Tenten blushed as she got to her feet again.

Tao ignored his sister's screaming and was anticipating a respond from me.

I nodded and another smile appeared on Tao's face. He walked to his sister and ruffled her hair playfully.

"I need to go now. Make sure to go home for a visit during the weekends if you're free."

Tenten nodded and gave her brother a goodbye kiss on the cheeks.

I bid goodbye to Tao and watched him leave the room after waving at the two of us.

After the door was closed, Tenten groaned and went back to take a seat on her bed.

"Sorry about that, Neji. Please ignore what my brother said."

"It's fine. It's understandable that he is worried."

I sat down on my own bed after placing my bag on the desk.

"He is getting worried unnecessarily." Tenten said as she hugged her pillow. She was pouting and I found it adorable.

"Maybe he is worried I'll attack you at night while you're asleep or something."

"That's what I meant by worrying unnecessarily. It's not like you'll do that."

"What if I would?" I smirked as I said that and Tenten got up from her bed. She stared at me with a blushing face for a few moments before throwing the pillow in her hands to my face.

"You're a pervert, Neji!"

I laughed as I removed the pillow from myself and threw it back to Tenten's face. Tenten angrily looked away and all I could do was laughed harder.

 _"_ _How I wish I could feel this happy every day."_

But I knew that was a naïve thought and things weren't meant to go smoothly all the time.

Only time could tell how things would end up in the future.

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed reading chapter 5. Please leave a review so I know what you guys think of the story so far! Thank you for reading and have a nice day!


	6. Obvious Feelings

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I would like to clear up some confusion I found out from one of the reviewers. Even though Tenten didn't give her brother Neji's number, she knew that her brother could still find ways to obtain the information. That is why she asked Neji to ignore him. I hope that clears things up! Sorry about that. Without further ado, please enjoy chapter 6!

Chapter 6: Obvious Feelings

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

Few weeks had passed since my first year as a senior high student started. I would say things are going rather smoothly in general. However, there were times when the situation got out of hand.

Just last week, Naruto was acting like the idiot he was and played with the chemicals in the laboratory. He said that the laboratory assignment was too boring and he wanted to create something more amazing. He definitely did it at the end, because he almost burned down the whole laboratory.

Luckily, Kakashi-sensei got there just in time to stop the fire. As for Tsunade-san, she was immensely 'amazed'.

I would say Naruto was lucky that Tsunade-san punished him by making him clean the dishes in the canteen for two weeks. Judging from how strict she usually was, it could be worse.

It was Thursday and we were just done with classes for the day. I signed up for the school's basketball team and there were practices every Tuesday and Thursday. Additional practices would be held if there were upcoming competitions though. I didn't know what other clubs I wanted to join and decided to just join one for now. I found out that I could always sign up for another one whenever I wanted to, as long as the person in charge of the club agreed to it.

Tenten and I were on our way back to our room when I noticed that Tenten looked happier than usual. She had always been a cheerful person, but there was something different that day.

"Did anything good happen?" I asked out of curiosity. Tenten glanced at me and grinned sheepishly.

"Was I that obvious? That's embarrassing." Tenten was giggling and it was something unusual. I raised an eyebrow at her in confusion, which urged her to explain the reason behind her abnormality.

"There's an interschool archery competition coming up in two weeks. And our school had chosen me to become Konoha Academy's representative!"

Tenten was jumping around excitedly and was still grinning as she entered our room. I closed the door behind me and was amused as I stared at my overexcited roommate.

"Congratulations. I'm sure you'll do great in the competition." I meant it when I said that. I went to watch Tenten during her archery practices once in a while and I was very impressed. She was just like a professional and there was nobody else in the archery team who was nearly as good as her. Even the teacher in charge of the archery team became speechless upon witnessing Tenten's archery skills.

"Thanks, Neji!" Tenten reached over to grab her pillow and was hugging it as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"When and where will the competition be held?" I asked as I opened my wardrobe to get the clothes I was going to change to for my basketball practice.

"It's going to be held two weeks from now on Saturday. The competition will start at 1 PM at the National Archery Club."

"I see. I'll go watch."

Tenten stood up from her bed and blinked her eyes at me.

"You will?" She sounded surprised as she asked for a confirmation of my words.

"Yes, I will. You don't want me to go?" I closed the wardrobe and turned to look at Tenten.

"That's not what I mean! I'm just surprised you're willing to go watch." Tenten looked away and avoided having to look at me in the eyes.

"Are you touched?" Seeing Tenten looking like that made me want to tease her. It was simply too enjoyable to see her getting all flustered.

"W-What?! No! I'm not so easily touched, you know."

Her slightly blushing cheeks betrayed her words and I smirked at her as I walked to the bathroom to get changed.

Even though I had been spending almost every day with Tenten for a while now, I felt like there were a lot about her that I had yet to know. Something told me that there were more behind her cheerfulness.

And I was ready to find out whenever she would be ready to tell.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

Neji left for basketball practice and I was left alone in my room. I was just browsing through the Internet but I got bored real quick. The silence was killing me.

I left my room and decided to head to the floor's common room, hoping that there would be people there I could talk to.

Luck was definitely on my side because Sakura, Ino and Hinata were in the common room when I entered.

"What's up, Tenten?" Ino pulled her eyes away from the magazine in her hands and waved at me.

"Bored." I sighed in frustration and sat on the sofa beside Sakura.

Sakura leaned against me and was giving me a suspicious looking smirk, "Are you bored because _your_ Neji is having basketball practice?"

"What?!" I screamed in reflex and was trying my best to surprise the burning sensation on my ears. I would be teased to no end if I started turning red at Sakura's words. "That's not true!"

"You don't have to be shy, Tenten." Ino was laughing as she poked my cheeks.

I pouted and narrowed my eyes at her but it just made her laugh even louder.

Hinata, who was sitting on my other side, grabbed my arm as a way to comfort me. Hinata had always been caring and I was beyond glad I had her by my side. I couldn't deal with Sakura and Ino's teasing all on my own.

"Oh, now that we are all here, I have something to say." Hinata declared and the three of us turned to look at her.

There were tint of excitement in her eyes and her smile was wide. It was rare to see Hinata looking energetic like that so it got us pretty curious as to what she was going to say.

"I was wondering if the three of you wants to come over to my house for a sleepover tomorrow night. I thought of this idea when I was watching TV last night."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Ino was the first to answer. She stood up from her seat and started talking about the stuffs we could do during the sleepover.

Sakura and I liked the idea as well. It would be my first sleepover and if it was with this bunch, I was sure it would be fun.

"Great! We'll go to my house tomorrow after school."

I had been anticipating Friday evening's arrival and I was glad the day passed by quickly. After school ended that day, I quickly returned to my room to finalize my packing.

I was so excited I forgot to wait for Neji to walk back to our room together.

When I was almost done with my bag, the door to the room opened and Neji entered.

"You were gone right after homeroom ended. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm going to have a sleepover over at Hinata's."

Neji looked at me with widened eyes and it was at that moment I had almost forgotten that Neji and Hinata lived under the same roof.

My mind started wondering whether Neji would go home for the weekends. I managed to convince myself that it wasn't weird of me to ask him that question.

"Will you be going home for the weekends?"

"I'm still not sure." Neji looked thoughtful for a few moments before a smirk formed on his face. "By any chance, are you hoping I would go home?"

I stood still and was completely speechless. The state I was in gave Neji more opportunities to tease me.

"If you admit that you wish to hang out with me in my room, I might consider going back for the weekends."

It took all the self control I had not to strangle Neji to death. I took several books on my desk and threw it directly towards Neji. He winced in pain but still had that amused look on his face.

It was infuriating but I wasn't sure if the redness on my cheeks was due to embarrassment or anger.

I decided it was caused by both.

I left the room after kicking Neji on the leg. I could get that smirk off his face by inflicting serious injuries. But I knew better than killing my own roommate. There were too many things I wanted to do and I wouldn't be so foolish as to get myself into jail.

I met up with the other girls at the main lobby where Hinata's chauffeur was waiting for us beside a black limousine.

The ride to Hinata's house didn't take very long and we soon arrived at the Hyuuga's mansion. It was huge, very huge. Everything looked so organized and luxurious. The gardens were full of beautiful flowers and the furniture was all of top quality.

I didn't expect anything less from the Hyuuga family.

We were just hanging out in Hinata's room, which looked as great as the rest of the house. It wasn't anything extravagant though. It was simple but comfortable. Somehow, it suited Hinata's image a lot.

"Is there anything you guys want for dinner?" Hinata asked as we drank some tea a maid brought for us earlier. The tea was soothing and it warms up my body instantly.

"Anything would be alright, Hinata." I answered and sighed upon tasting the tea.

"My father and uncle would be coming home late today. So we'll have dinner first." Hinata stood up and left to inform the maids about dinner.

"I'm actually glad Hiashi-san and Hizashi-san would be home late. I can't imagine having dinner with those two." I whispered softly, as if I was trying to make sure I wouldn't be heard. There was something about the Hyuugas. They made me feel that we were constantly being watched. It was rather intimidating.

"I know right. I think I would be too scared to even swallow." Sakura was also whispering and I assumed she was feeling the same way as I did.

"As for me, I think I would be too intimidated to even go near them." Ino shivered at the thought and quickly gained composure when Hinata returned.

"Dinner would be ready in about an hour. We can hang out at the gardens if you guys like."

We nodded at Hinata and followed her to the main garden of the mansion.

Breathing in fresh air and being surrounded by the scent of flowers while watching the sunset was something I could get used to.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

Shortly after Tenten left, I received a call from my father and was asked to head over to the company. I was asked to take part in the company's annual executive meeting. It was a meeting among the executive members of the company and I was asked to join to gain experience.

My father and uncle believed it was an effective way to help me learn how to manage the company. That was why I was often asked to observe meetings or take part in other important events.

A few years ago, my father and uncle told me that they wanted me to become the next president of the company. I was surprised at first since I thought they would make Hinata the president instead. But seeing how much they trusted me, I decided to do my best so I wouldn't disappoint them.

It was already 7 PM when the meeting ended. I was inside the car with my father and uncle and was on the way back home.

I forgot the last time I was excited to be going home and I knew why I felt that way this time. Tenten was there and it would be interesting to tease her a bit.

There were only my father, my uncle and I having dinner together. Hanabi was on an overseas field trip with her school and I assumed Hinata and the others had dinner already.

During dinner, one of the maids came to bring us some drinks and my uncle spoke.

"Did Hinata and her friends have dinner?"

"Yes, they have, Hiashi-sama."

"Hinata brought friends over for a sleepover, didn't she? I'm glad she had been making great friends." My father smiled as he finished his dinner. I was aware that people had been worried that Hinata might end up a loner.

"She is such a timid girl and I was worried she wouldn't be able to make friends with others." My uncle then turned to look at me. "Are you familiar with Hinata's friends, Neji?"

"I guess. They're my classmates." I answered as I finished my dinner as well. I was drinking when my father suddenly asked something out of the ordinary.

"Are you interested in any of them?"

I coughed when I choked on my drink. I tried to stay calm as I tried to stop myself from choking any further.

I cleared my throat before answering my father, "No."

"I sense lies." My uncle said in his usual straightforward tone. It was that moment when I hate the fact that the Hyuugas are excellent observers. It was not possible for lies to get through them.

"You know, Neji. We are also concerned about you. You're already 16 years old and yet you have never really shown interest towards a girl." I could sense my father's genuine concern in his words but all I could do was sigh softly.

"We want you to find a girl you like. But if things continued this way, we might put you through an arranged marriage." My uncle's strict voice proved that he was being serious. I found myself sighing again at the thought of an arranged marriage.

I swore I wouldn't put myself through something as horrible as an arranged marriage.

"I understand." My father and uncle nodded at my response. They knew how I hated to disappoint them so they were sure I will do something about my romance status.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

We spent hours just talking about basically everything after we had dinner. Our conversations ranged from talking about Kakashi-sensei's awful excuses to discussing about Tsunade-san and Jiraiya-sensei's possible love affair.

"Do you guys think the rumor about Tsunade-san and Jiraiya-sensei is true?" Sakura said with a thoughtful expression.

Jiraiya-sensei was our Biology teacher and was known to be a mega old pervert. His Biology lessons were often strayed to the wrong direction, which was a great enjoyment for the likes of Naruto and Kiba.

"Someone caught them making out in one of the classrooms few weeks ago." Ino had a disturbed look on her face when she said that. I saw her shivering at her own words.

"Let's drop the topic. I really don't want to imagine Tsunade-san making out with Jiraiya-sensei." I said and took a gulp of water. I needed to get the disturbing image out of my head.

"I think I need some fresh air." Ino declared and got up from her seat. The rest of us followed her and left Hinata's room.

Hinata suggested that we should get ourselves some fresh juice from the kitchen. On our way to the kitchen, we passed by the living room where Hiashi-san, Hizashi-san and Neji were.

I felt myself gulping at the sight in front of me and I noticed that Sakura and Ino weren't feeling any more comfortable than I did. The intimidation and tension in the atmosphere was no joke.

When we saw Hinata walking over to greet her father and uncle, it took every last bit of our courage to do the same. We bowed politely at the two intimidating men and introduced ourselves.

Much to our surprise, Hiashi-san and Hizashi-san smiled and greeted us back. I thought they were incapable of smiling. Guessed they were real humans after all.

Hinata was speaking to her father when I noticed Neji looking at me. I narrowed my eyes at him upon remembering what happened before I left the room earlier. His smirk told me he knew what was on my mind.

I rolled my eyes at him and chose to ignore him for the time being. I didn't want to end up doing something stupid in front of Hiashi-san and Hizashi-san because of Neji.

After Hinata finished talking with her father, we excused ourselves and left for the kitchen. I felt as if I had been holding onto my breath the whole time. I could finally relax after we stepped into the kitchen.

"The tension is real." Ino muttered softly as she drank her juice.

"They're always like that." Hinata smiled at us apologetically.

"I need the restroom." I declared and Hinata point towards the direction where the nearest restroom was.

I took a turn after leaving the kitchen and realized I had bumped into someone. The smell and presence were familiar and I knew immediately who it was.

I looked up and was staring directly into Neji's eyes. I pouted in annoyance and took a few steps backwards since we were unnecessarily close to each other.

"Where are you going?" Neji asked and leaned against a nearby wall. He had a white shirt and black sweatpants on. The shirt was slightly too tight and it embraced his toned body. In all honesty, he looked incredibly sexy. But I would never admit that to his face. He would end up becoming more arrogant than he already was.

"Restroom." I answered with narrowed eyes. Something told me he wouldn't let me off that easily. He was probably born to frustrate me.

"I see." He sighed to show disappointment. "I thought you were going to my room."

I stepped onto his foot instinctively. I even kicked him on the leg afterwards. I had a smug look on my face when I saw him wincing in pain.

"You don't have to be shy, Tenten."

"Don't make me kill you."

I was going to continue giving him murderous glares but Neji suddenly laughed. It was a carefree laugh and it was the first time I saw him like that. It looked as if it was the first time he fully let his guard down in front of me.

Seeing him that way made me feel weird in ways I couldn't comprehend. At that moment, I felt very selfish because I didn't want anyone else to see him that way.

He looked genuinely happy and I wanted to see more of that.

Am I seriously starting to like Neji in another way besides as a friend?

I was never good at handling situations regarding love. It was a complicated matter and I felt incompetent whenever I had to face problems which involve delicate feelings such as love. There were always risks of getting hurt when you fall in love.

Was I ready to take the risk?

I felt my face burning and I looked away.

I knew it was too late for me to pretend I didn't have feelings for Neji.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

I never really understood why it was different being around Tenten. I never really put my guard down when I'm around people. This wasn't the case with this roommate of mine.

There was something about her that made me want to be myself. It was a comforting feeling and I could get used to it.

I saw how flushed Tenten was as she tried to speak again. She was still avoiding eye contact with me and I couldn't stop myself from ruffling her hair.

"I'm just joking."

I kind of was telling the truth, I guessed. I was just teasing Tenten but I knew I wouldn't mind if she wanted to hang out in my room.

I mentally scolded myself for letting my mind wander towards the wrong direction. It was inappropriate for me to have those thoughts in the first place.

Tenten pouted and softly slapped my hand away. She started walking away right afterwards and I stood there for a while just watching her back.

A small smiled was on my face when I turned around to return to my room.

However, I didn't expect my father and uncle to suddenly appear behind me. I couldn't believe I didn't sense that they had been watching.

I guessed I was too distracted. Not that I minded though.

My uncle was the first one to speak and he had a smile on his face.

"Is that the girl you like, Neji?"

I was at a loss and didn't know what to do. I wasn't even sure of the answer to that. Yes, I liked Tenten. But how could I be so sure it was in a romantic way?

"Someone seems to be hesitant. That is unusual." My father saw through me and I sighed in defeat. I didn't like to appear weak and indecisive in front of two men I respected most in my life.

But I guessed this time I was hopeless.

"Give yourself some time, Neji. I'm sure you'll figure things out soon." My father placed a hand on my shoulder as he said that. I nodded at him and was still feeling embarrassed having to reveal a weakness.

"If I'm not mistaken, Tenten is your roommate, right? I heard Hinata mentioned it before." I nodded in response to my uncle's question. I watched in curiosity as I saw my father and uncle exchanging glances with each other.

"I guess it is time for 'that' conversation. I knew this will happen one day. I'll leave it to you, Hizashi." My uncle left the two of us in a hurry, which was a huge contrast to his usual calm self. I blinked in confusion as I watched my uncle walking away and was out of my sight.

I turned my attention back to my father when I heard him clear his throat.

 _"_ _I have a bad feeling about this."_ I thought as I waited for my father to start speaking up his mind.

"You see, Neji. I know you're a bright boy. But as your father, I have a responsibility to make sure you wouldn't end up doing things which could cause heavy consequences. I understand that young people are curious beings and they often act according to their instincts, but you need t-"

"Father." I never cut my father off when he was talking. But the whole conversation was giving me a headache. I knew exactly what my father was trying to say and I felt my ears burning up.

I wasn't strong enough to endure _this_ conversation with my father.

"Neji, I know you're smart and you probably feel that you don't need this conversation. But sometimes, you need guidance so that you wouldn't commit mistakes."

"Father, I know what you're trying to say. You really don't have to continue."

I felt my face burning up and saying that I felt embarrassed became an understatement. I was beyond embarrassed and I didn't know what I should do.

"Neji." My father placed both hands on my shoulders tightly. He was looking directly into my eyes and I gulped in nervousness. There was seriousness in my father's eyes and it made me very uncomfortable.

"Yes?" I managed to reply under my father's extremely serious gaze.

"I must teach you about safe sex."

And that was all it took for me to bring out all my strength to escape my father's grip.

I didn't remember ever running so fast in my life. I didn't even dare to look back as I dashed back to my room.

If I stayed any longer in that conversation, I would be having nightmares for who knows how long.

I slumped onto the floor with my back on the door after I entered my room. I was panting and heat was still radiating from my body, especially from my face. I sighed in frustration and started muttering to myself.

"You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you guys liked chapter 6! Please drop a review as well! Reviews serve as motivation and also as a way for me to improve the story. So, go ahead and tell me what you think of this fanfic so far! Please look forward to chapter 7 because something is going to happen between Neji and Tenten (insert overexcited grin). Thank you for reading!


	7. A Onetime Lie?

Author's Note: I have been really motivated to write lately so I kept on updating. I hope my readers will read this fanfic until the end as well! Anyways, here's chapter 7 for everyone.

Chapter 7: A Onetime Lie?

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I had been practicing a lot for my archery competition after school ended. My friends would come visit me once in a while to cheer me on. We would then go for desserts afterwards and I couldn't be any happier.

Well, there was something that made me happier, I guessed.

A few days before the competition, Neji came to watch me practice. He even brought a bottle of juice for me. I couldn't stop myself from grinning and I felt somewhat ridiculous. I hated myself for making me look so stupid in front of Neji.

But I always ridicule myself in front of him so I was getting used to that.

Anyways, the day of the competition arrived in a blink of an eye. After I finished my lunch at home, I got onto one of the black limousine with my older brother. I was glad my brother managed to free up his Saturday for me.

We were inside the car and I was just looking outside the window, watching as we passed by buildings and trees.

"Are you nervous?"

I turned towards my brother when I heard him speak. I gave him a wide smile which was full of confidence.

"Not at all!"

My brother ruffled my hair playfully and pinched my cheeks.

"I'm sure you'll do well. By the way, is that pretty boy roommate of yours going to be there?"

I narrowed my eyes at my brother for his choice of nickname for Neji. Though it was understandable why he would see him that way. His hair was long and soft, his white eyes were absolutely gorgeous and that face of his was simply…

 _"_ _Oh my goodness, Tenten. Get a hold of yourself."_

I scolded myself for letting my own thoughts running wild. I tried not to act unusual as I answered my brother.

"He said he'll be there."

"What a supportive boyfriend. He is definitely trying to steal you from me. Soon, you wouldn't even want to be around your brother. The very thought is making me very depressed."

I felt my ears burning but I wasn't sure whether it was due to anger or embarrassment.

I reached out and pinched one of my brother's cheeks hardly and glared at him, ignoring the fact that he was wincing in pain.

"For the hundredth time, he is not my boyfriend!"

But I wondered, would I mind if he was?

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

I was preparing myself to leave for the archery tournament inside my room. I decided to wear a short sleeved white polo shirt with long black pants. Hinata said she promised to meet up with Sakura and Ino so she left first.

When I saw that it was almost time to go, I left my room and walked pass the living room, where my father and uncle were at that time.

I greeted them politely and they inquired as to where I was going.

"I'm going to watch an archery tournament."

I didn't want to mention that I was going there to watch Tenten. Mentioning her name might result in yet another humiliating conversation. I shivered whenever I thought of the night my father tried to give me _the talk_.

I swore to never get myself into that situation ever again.

"Is it the same as the one Hinata is going to?" My uncle asked and I was hoping Hinata didn't mention anything about Tenten.

My prayers weren't answered.

"Does that mean you're going to watch Tenten?"

I tried to pretend I didn't notice the slightly excited tone my father had when he spoke. I nodded and quickly left so my father and uncle wouldn't have the chance to ask me anything else. Of course, I remembered to bid goodbye properly. Even though I was slightly panicking, I was raised to be polite and full of manners.

The only time I would forget about manners would be the times when my father would bring up _that_ conversation again. That was for sure.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

It was 12.45 PM and I was sitting in the waiting room with other contestants. I looked around at my opponents and some of them looked very nervous. It was a mix gender competition so there were both boys and girls. And since it was an inter-school tournament among high school students, we were all of similar ages.

I stood up from my seat when a staff entered and told us it was almost time to start. I followed everyone else and left the waiting room. When we arrived at the tournament area, we were welcomed by a huge round of applause from the audience.

It was deafening but it made me really excited. I scanned through the audience and managed to see familiar faces. I waved at my brother who was sitting on the front row and he smiled brightly at me. The archery team from school was also there and was sitting at the middle rows. And all my classmates were there too and even Kakashi-sensei was present. They were sitting a few rows above my brother and were looking energized. I was surprised that Kakashi-sensei wasn't late actually. But then I remembered Ino saying that Naruto and Sakura were planning to go to Kakashi-sensei's house to drag him out so he wouldn't be late.

The thought of that happening made me chuckle to myself.

Then my eyes made contact with Neji, who was smiling at me from where he was. I suddenly felt my heart thumping against my chest. It was weird how I would feel more nervous seeing Neji looking at me compared to being in a competition.

I smiled back at him and waved at my friends as I followed the other contestants to our seats.

 _"_ _I'm going to win this."_

I told myself that when it was announced that the competition had started.

* * *

"Tenten won!"

I heard Ino screaming from the audience when my last arrow touched the target's bull's eye. The whole audience began cheering louder than ever and I felt relieved to have secured the championship.

I turned towards the audience where my brother and friends were and waved at them with a bright smile on my face.

The award ceremony was held right afterwards. I was presented with a golden trophy, a medal, a certificate and also prize money. I planned to use the prize money to buy new and better equipment for our school's archery team. We could use some new stuff for practice.

After the award ceremony was over, we were led back to the waiting room, where all our things were. I put down my awards inside the waiting room and went out to get myself a drink from the vending machine. But as I walked through the hallways, I came across someone I didn't imagine would be there.

And I really didn't want to see him.

"Deidara."

My eyes were wide in shock. I definitely did not expect to meet Deidara here. I wasn't planning on meeting him after our awkward breakup.

Oh yes, to be clear, Deidara was my ex-boyfriend whom I concluded I didn't love. It made our breakup very awkward and all that.

 _"_ _I'm not ready for this."_

I had that in mind as I wait for Deidara to speak up. He had an unreadable expression on his face, which was rare since it had always been easy to read his mind. He was quite an expressive person, after all.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his usual childish grin was on his face.

"Great job out there, Ten. I was confident you would win, yeah."

"Thanks." I muttered, taking note of how he still called me by the nickname he came up with when we dated. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable but I wasn't going to voice that out.

"So, how have you been?"

"Not bad. What about you?"

"Pretty good. I'm currently attending Konoha University."

I was taken aback to find out that Deidara was attending the same university as my older brother. How did I not know this?

"I see." I didn't know what else to say. We used to have so much to talk about but I guessed we would never go back to how we used to. Not after all that had happened.

"You know, Ten." Deidara broke the silence and was looking away from me. He had a smile on his face but somehow, it looked sad in my eyes. And his next words made me absolutely speechless.

"I had never stopped loving you."

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

The others said we should go have dinner to celebrate Tenten's victory and they were waiting for Tenten at the National Archery Club's main lobby.

I felt slightly thirsty so I excused myself from the others. I was told that the nearest vending machine was down the hallway so I headed over there. When I was walking through the hallways, I heard a very familiar voice.

I stopped at the intersection and slowly peeked at the right lane, where the voice was coming from. I was surprised to see that it was Tenten. She was talking to a blonde guy whom I had never seen before.

The whole situation seemed slightly awkward so I decided to hide from them for the time being. I knew it wasn't right to eavesdrop but I had a feeling something was going on between those two.

"I had never stopped loving you."

What?

I felt my eyes growing wide at what I just heard. I felt like I was nailed to the ground and stood as still as stone. I knew it; I shouldn't be listening to this.

There was a long silence before Tenten finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, Deidara. But it's impossible between us. I made it clear to you when we broke up."

 _"_ _So that guy is Tenten's ex-boyfriend."_

It didn't take long before I understood the whole situation. It was obvious from the tone of his voice that Tenten's ex-boyfriend had not moved on from her. On the other hand, Tenten's stern tone proved that she felt otherwise.

"Come on, Ten. Give ourselves another chance, will you? We can make it work this time, yeah."

"No." Frustration and annoyance could be sensed from Tenten's words. I slowly took another peek and saw the look on that guy's face. He was starting to get pissed off as well and it wasn't looking good.

"Why?! You have another guy or something?! You should at least give a reasonable excuse!"

When I saw how speechless Tenten had become, I just had to do something. I must be out of my mind to be doing what I was about to do.

I had never felt so insane in my life.

"Tenten."

I saw Tenten's body tensed up upon hearing my voice calling out to her. She slowly turned around and I had never seen her looking so surprised. I walked over to her in confidence and when I was close enough, I placed a hand on her waist and turned her back to face the blonde guy.

I had a smile on my face all the time and it didn't disappear when I faced Tenten's ex-boyfriend, who looked pretty shaken up.

"Hello. Who might you be?"

Tenten, despite her burning ears, managed to answer my question.

"This is Deidara, an old friend of mine."

I pulled Tenten closer to me and smiled wider at Deidara. I started this act so might as well go all out to make it believable.

"Hello, Deidara. I'm Neji Hyuuga, Tenten's boyfriend."

Fortunately, Tenten must have figured out what I was doing. She didn't resist when I pulled her closer to me or complain at the sudden declaration of myself as her boyfriend.

Deidara was obviously in shock and took a few moments just staring at me. Judging from his expression, I was sure he believed our little act.

He suddenly cleared his throat and regained his composure. He stood straighter and smiled a little at us.

"I see. I have something I need to attend to. I'll get going now. I'll see you again, yeah."

With that, he walked pass us without turning back even once. When he was completely out of sight, Tenten let out a sigh of relief.

Tenten looked upwards to thank me but her voice trailed off when she realized how close our faces were to each other.

I saw how embarrassed she was but didn't let go of my hand. I smirked at her and reached down to whisper in her ear.

"If you blush so much, your boyfriend here might think you want to be doing more than this."

I heard Tenten tensing up again and punched me on the stomach as she released herself from me.

I winced in pain but couldn't stop smirking at how worked up Tenten was.

I stood up straight as she glared at me. Her expression softened a few moments afterwards before she thanked me again.

"Thank you."

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

As I walked back to the waiting room to gather my things after I left Neji, I could still feel my skin burning. Especially the ear Neji whispered to and the part of my skin where he touched me.

 _"_ _Stop acting like an idiot, Tenten! He was just trying to help you out!"_

I kept telling myself that as I walked to the lobby where my friends were. I had changed out from my archery uniform and into more casual clothes. Going around in my archery uniform would seek too much attention, after all.

My brother sent me a message saying he had something going on so he had left. He told me he would take me out for lunch the next day to celebrate.

I was attacked by Ino with a hug when I reached the lobby. She couldn't stop telling me about how cool I looked out there just now and all that. I was flattered but was quite embarrassed to hear all those compliments at one go.

We decided to go to a restaurant which was well-known for their western cuisine. It was at least half an hour ride away but all of us agreed it would be worth it.

Neji suggested I would follow his car since I didn't bring my own. Even though I could still blush deep shades of red at the thought of what happened between us earlier, there were no reasons for me to decline the offer.

I went to sit at the passenger's seat after placing my awards in the backseat. The ride was quiet at first before Neji suddenly spoke.

"I forgot to congratulate you for winning. You did great."

I gave a confident grin upon hearing the compliment. Somehow, Neji didn't seem like someone who compliments often. I guessed that was why I was delighted to have heard what he said.

"Thanks!"

Throughout the whole ride, Neji didn't mention anything about Deidara. It was weird since I expected that he would at least have a question or two in his mind. Wasn't he curious who he was? But Neji was smart so I guessed he figured out who Deidara was.

Or, Neji just didn't care. But if he didn't care, he wouldn't come and help me out, right? Oh, he was probably just being nice seeing how troubled I was.

I tried not to think too much about the earlier event. It was just a onetime lie, anyway.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

It was Sunday morning and I woke up slightly later than usual. I couldn't sleep so well last night since there were so much thoughts going around in my head.

I kept on thinking about what happened between Tenten and Deidara. I was curious as to what actually happened between them before. But judging from what I saw yesterday, Tenten must be the one who initiated the break up. Deidara, on the other hand, didn't look like he had given up yet.

I had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time I would see him.

I could actually ask Tenten my questions back in the car yesterday, when we were on our way to the restaurant. But I just couldn't voice my inquiries out. I was worried it would make her feel uncomfortable and it would end up awkward between us.

So I chose to keep the questions to myself and ended up with having insomnia. It was wonderful indeed.

My thoughts were interrupted by a notification in my phone. I reached out for my phone on the night stand and realized it was a message from Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke: What is this news I heard about you and Tenten dating?

* * *

What in the world?

* * *

Neji: Who told you that?

Sasuke: Itachi.

* * *

How in the world did Sasuke's older brother found out about the lie I made up?

* * *

Neji: Who did he hear it from?

Sasuke: From his university friend, Deidara. Actually, it was Deidara who asked Itachi whether it was true that you're dating Tenten. I didn't know how that Deidara guy found out I'm friends with you.

* * *

Shoots, this didn't look good.

* * *

Neji: What did you tell Itachi?

Sasuke: I said I don't know anything. I figured there was something behind that rumor and it was safest to say I had no clue as to what was going on.

* * *

I had never been so glad Sasuke was smart.

* * *

Neji: I'll explain it next time.

Sasuke: Just a warning, from what I heard from Itachi, this Deidara guy isn't so simple.

* * *

Just when I thought this would be a onetime lie, I was proved how wrong I was about that.

* * *

Author's Note: I kind of like Deidara and just had to add him in. I hope you guys like this chapter and please leave a review! Drop suggestions as well if you like so this fanfic can be improved. Thank you for reading and please look forward to the next chapter!


	8. A Lie's Consequences

Author's Note: I would like to use this chance to thank readers who followed up to this chapter. I really appreciate it!

Chapter 8: A Lie's Consequences

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I was woken up by a notification from my phone. I groaned as I reached out for my phone on the night stand. I was still very tired from yesterday's events. The competition wasn't the main reason for me to feel so drained; it was Deidara's sudden appearance.

Last night, my mind was a mess. I couldn't keep Deidara out of my head and it prevented me from getting a good night rest. And there was someone else haunting my thoughts as I tried to sleep.

It was Neji.

His actions yesterday made me more confused than ever. No matter how much I convinced myself that he was just trying to help out, there was a part of me that wished there was more than just that.

 _"_ _What have you gotten yourself into, Tenten?"_

When I saw the sender of the message I just received, my eyes shot wide opened and my earlier sleepiness disappeared instantly.

It was my white eyed roommate.

And his message caused me to be more awake than I already was.

* * *

Neji: That ex-boyfriend of yours is going around asking about us. It seems like he didn't totally buy our little act.

* * *

What?

* * *

Tenten: Who did he talk to?

Neji: Sasuke's older brother. They're classmates in university.

* * *

Oh no, my older brother was also in the same university! Things weren't looking good.

* * *

Neji: I have another bad news.

Tenten: What?

Neji: I think the news will soon reach your older brother.

* * *

I had a terrible feeling it would.

* * *

Tenten: My brother is attending the same university as them.

Neji: And apparently, your brother and Deidara are members of the same art club in university.

* * *

Wait, what? How did I not know any of this?!

* * *

Neji: Your brother had just joined that club not too long ago. But it means the two of them know each other.

Tenten: This is bad. He might ask my brother about it.

Neji: Does your brother know you once dated that guy?

Tenten: Of course not. He will most probably kill him. And now I don't mind if he did so.

Neji: Just explain everything to your brother before Deidara gets to him. Tell him we had no choice.

Tenten: That's a bad idea. My brother is horrible at acting. He will ruin everything! And I really want Deidara out of my life.

Neji: Then what are you planning to do?

Tenten: Can I ask you to do me a favor which might risk your life?

Neji: I appreciate the warning.

Tenten: So, will you?

Neji: Sure, what do you want me to do?

Tenten: I promise I will pay you back one day, Neji. Thank you so much!

Neji: No problem. I have confidence I can keep myself alive. Moreover, I was the one who started the act.

Tenten: And I appreciate it. You're a lifesaver.

Neji: Sure.

Tenten: So, about the favor. Are you free at 12 PM today?

Neji: Yes.

Tenten: Great. Meet me at the restaurant we went to on the night of the first day of orientation.

Neji: Why?

Tenten: I'm meeting my brother for lunch there. We're going to tell him that we're dating.

Neji: Do I need to wear a bullet proof vest under my shirt in case he shoots me?

Tenten: My brother doesn't own a gun. But you might want to be careful if he has a knife in his hand.

Neji: Noted. I'll see you later then.

Tenten: Thanks a whole lot, Neji!

Neji: No problem.

* * *

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. And here I thought it would just be a onetime life. I guessed people were right to say that once you started a lie, you would need to continue lying to cover up that one little lie.

On second thought, maybe Neji should get himself a bullet proof vest. Just in case my brother really had a gun.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

 _"_ _Great, Neji. You have sent yourself into a lion's den."_

It was a few minutes after 11 PM when I started changing. I chose a light blue polo shirt and a pair of white long pants. As I changed, I was seriously considering getting myself a bullet proof vest.

But if Tao really wanted to kill me, I believed even a bullet proof armor wouldn't be able to protect me.

When I left my room, I noticed my father and uncle at the hallways. It seemed like they just left the study room.

I greeted them politely and planned to leave before a conversation was started. They were the last people I wanted to know where I was going.

"Neji, I have something important to tell you." My uncle was stern and it made me turn around obediently. I saw intense seriousness in his eyes and it felt uncomfortable looking into them.

I stood in silence as I waited for either my father or uncle to speak up.

"You see, Neji. One of our company's main business partners found out that you're still single. And he was wondering if you would be interested to meet his daughter. H-"

"I already have a girlfriend."

 _"_ _Great, Neji. You did excellent. You just made the lie even bigger than it already was."_

"You do? Since when? And who?" I clearly caught my own father off guard since it was out of his character to be bombarding me with questions like that.

"I asked Tenten out few days ago."

This was probably the biggest lie I had ever told in my entire life. And I couldn't believe the people I was lying to were the two men I respected the most. Also, they were the two most observant people I knew.

 _"_ _They're definitely going to see through me."_

I was prepared to be scolded for lying but was given a pat on the shoulder from my father instead.

"That's great news, Neji! I knew you had a thing for Tenten. It's pretty obvious."

I tried to act as natural as possible and smiled at my father. I saw my uncle smiling as well as he spoke.

"You should bring Tenten over for dinner tomorrow night. It's a good idea to get to know her better."

 _"_ _Neji, you have gotten yourself into the biggest mess you'll ever create."_

Still trying to act as believable as possible, I smiled at my uncle and agreed with his suggestions. There were no reasons for me to reject his offer.

"That's a great idea, uncle. If you would excuse me, I need to go now."

"Is it a date with Tenten?" I couldn't help but notice the unusual excitement in my father's tone. I nodded and managed a small smile. I felt like my energy had been sucked away from me after lying so much.

"Run along now. It's not polite to make a girl wait."

I mentally thanked my uncle to give me the chance to run away. I tried not to run since it would be too suspicious. But seriously, all I wanted to do at that time was to run away from the two of them.

I guessed it would be my turn to ask Tenten for a favor.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I could feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest during my ride to the restaurant. I kept on glancing over to my brother, who was sitting beside me. I was relieved to see that he was in a rather good mood.

I knew he would still react violently later on but it could be worse if he was in a terrible mood.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I noticed that Neji wasn't there yet. I became even more nervous by the second and I was honestly worried that my brother might cause a huge fuss.

My brother chose a booth by the window, which could fit up to four people. I continued looking around to see if Neji arrived.

"What are you looking for, Tenten?"

I jumped a little in my seat when I heard my brother's voice. I smiled at him nervously and cleared my throat.

 _"_ _You can do this, Tenten. If you want to get rid of Deidara, you must do this."_

My courage was slowly built up as I continued motivating myself. It was then or never.

"Nii-san, there's actually another person joining us today."

I swore my heart started racing even faster when I saw the confusion in my brother's face.

"Who is it?"

"I-It's Neji." I couldn't help but stutter under my brother's gaze. I quickly explained before my brother could have the chance to speak. "We have something we must tell you!"

I didn't dare to even look at my brother and there was silence between us. Then suddenly, Neji was already standing by our booth. In reflex, I pulled him to sit beside me.

I looked over to Neji, who had a somewhat nervous look on his face. I gave him a weak smile before slowly turning over to look at my brother.

He definitely didn't look happy.

From the look on his face, it was as if he was struggling with his own thoughts. All Neji and I could do was stare at my brother and waited for him to speak.

Waiting had never felt so agonizing.

"I knew this is going to happen. I just knew it." My brother's voice was weak, as if he was in deep shock. My brother was a smart person so he must have figured out why I asked Neji to join us.

I was about to speak when my brother suddenly said something utterly ridiculous.

"You made my sister pregnant, didn't you?"

My brother's glare towards Neji was filled with anger and hatred. He looked like he could murder Neji with just the intensity of his eyes.

I was still confused at my brother's words and Neji must have felt the same way. The two of us became speechless as my brother continued glaring my Neji.

"I knew this is bound to happen. Putting a guy and girl inside a room together will definitely lead to this. Neji Hyuuga, I warned you not to do anything weird to my sister! But you still got your hands all over her a-"

"Nii-san! I am not pregnant!" I couldn't bear to listen to my brother's nonsense and finally found my voice again. I noticed my brother's glare slowly disappearing as he took in the meaning of my words.

"You're not?"

My brother was talking as if it was weird I wasn't pregnant. I decided to take back my words when I said my brother was smart.

"I am not." I emphasized each word so he could hear me loud and clear.

My brother sighed and a small smile appeared on his face.

"Thank goodness. So, what do you guys want to tell me?"

"I'm dating Tenten."

Neji's words instantly removed the smile off my brother's face.

I knew it; it wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

My words had definitely served as a huge blow for Tenten's brother.

He looked like a meteor had struck his mind or something. There was silence among us and it was starting to kill me.

I would have preferred him attempting to stab me to just staying quiet.

Despite the fact that the silence stayed much longer than it should, Tenten and I knew better than to speak another word. Tenten still had her hands around my arm as we waited for Tao to respond.

"Is it true, Tenten?"

I saw Tenten gulping at her brother's question. If she really wanted to avoid her ex-boyfriend, what she needed to do was act flawlessly. It was the only way.

"Yes. It's true, Nii-san." Tenten tightened her grip around my arm and spoke in a convincing tone.

There was yet another silence. We stared at Tao, who was back to being deep in thought. It was nerve wrecking having to wait for him to say something again.

It was my turn to gulp in nervousness when Tenten's brother suddenly looked towards me. There was intensity in his eyes but it wasn't like the deadly glare he was giving me earlier. It was different. But his expressions were unreadable and I didn't know what to expect from him.

"Do you love my sister, Neji?"

My eyes grew wide upon hearing the question. That was definitely unexpected and I was almost thrown off guard. I knew I must continued acting to make sure Tenten's brother believed us.

However, I wasn't sure if I was acting when I answered Tao's question.

"I do. I love her very much."

I could feel Tenten shivering slightly at my words. I glanced over to her and saw how flushed she was. He ears were burning red and her cheeks were in a deep shade of red.

Seeing her all flushed like that made me feel slightly embarrassed at my own words.

I turn towards Tao when I felt his strong gaze on me. He was looking at me as if he was trying to read my mind. I was beginning to worry that he might have seen through our lies.

Tenten must have had enough of the silence and started talking.

"Nii-san, I really love Neji. I really want to be with him. Please let us be together."

I was surprised at Tenten's words but I was more surprised at the sincerity I felt from her. She sounded like she meant everything she said.

How I wished she was telling the truth.

"I didn't say I won't let you two be together."

"Do you mean you won't object us from dating?" It was more believable if Tao would cause a big fuss before allowing me to date his sister.

"Well, I could see how much you two care for each other. I would be a horrible brother if I won't allow my precious sister to be with the one she loved so much."

Even though all of it started with a lie, deep inside, I was really happy. I gave me a chance to take a glimpse of what it would be like if I really got together with Tenten.

I glanced over at Tenten and noticed a warm smile on her face. Her cheeks were blushing but she looked glad as well.

 _"_ _I wonder how Tenten will react if I told her that not everything was a lie?"_

"I have some conditions though, Neji."

Tao's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to look at him.

"I want you to promise me that you'll perform safe sex. I don't want you to come to me saying that you have made my sister pregnant. I wouldn't hesitate to have you killed."

"What in the world are you talking about, Nii-san?!" I could see that Tenten was blushing even more furiously by then. Her voice was loud enough to attract some attention towards ourselves. When Tenten noticed that she had attracted unwanted attention, she tried to calm herself down by taking in a deep breath.

As for me, I was reminded of the time when my father tried to give me _the talk_. I was still haunted by that nightmare up until that moment.

"Teenagers are curious beings and often end up doing things with irreversible consequences. That is why I must make sure Neji here is aware of what safe sex is."

"Nii-san!" It was obvious that Tenten was beyond embarrassed while I was still very much speechless.

I knew I had to say something or else Tao wouldn't be dropping the topic.

"I am clearly aware of what it is." I had to sound convincing or else Tao might end up giving me the lesson himself. It would become my second nightmare and I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Are you sure?" Tao narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion.

"Yes. My father had told me everything I had to know." I couldn't stop a shiver running throughout my body as I spoke. The thought of my father actually telling me about safe sex in detail was unbearable.

This nightmare was definitely going to stay with me for a very long time.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

We ended up listening to my brother talking about the safety precaustions needed during sexual intercourse. He even suggested that I should take birth control pills.

This nightmare was going to haunt me for the longest of time.

I was glad my brother had an appointment with his friends and had to leave after we finished our meal. I could see the relief in Neji's face when my brother had left the restaurant.

Neji offered to drive me home and I had to apologize when we were inside the car.

"I'm sorry for putting you through all that just now. I promise I'll pay you back someday!"

There was a few moments of silence and I took note of the fact that I had been tormented by silence a lot that day.

"Well, there is something you can do to pay me back." Neji didn't remove his eyes from the road as he spoke.

"What is it? I am willing to do anything! I can fight bears or catch a rattlesnake for you. " I felt really guilty to have made him go through lunch while listening to my brother giving advices on how to treat a girl well on bed. He wouldn't be able to get my brother's words out of his head any time soon.

"There is no need for you to fight bears and I do not need a rattlesnake. What I need you to do is to have dinner at my house tomorrow night as my girlfriend."

At that moment, I honestly thought that fighting bears or catching a rattlesnake was easier than doing what Neji wanted me to do.

* * *

Author's Note: Kindly leave a review so I know what you think of this famfic so far. Feel free to share some suggestions as well! Please look forward to the next chapter and thank you for reading!


	9. Among the Fireflies

Author's Note: Thanks for the review _Yukiko' Yuli_! I'm so glad you liked that part because I loved writing it (insert huge laughter). I want like to thank all supporters of this story as well! Each and every one of you are awesome (insert thumbs up). Chapter 9 is for my amazing readers!

Chapter 9: Among the Fireflies

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

" _I have no rights to complain after what I have made Neji went through."_

That was right. I had no rights to complain about the favor Neji asked of me. Though I must say it would be the biggest favor I had ever did for anyone in my entire life.

The thought of having dinner with Hiashi Hyuuga and Hizashi Hyuuga as Neji Hyuuga's girlfriend easily sent shivers throughout my whole body. And having three intimidating Hyuuga members' names mentioned in a single sentence wasn't helping me calm down at all.

"Did something happen?" I wonder what sort of situation Neji got himself into to have needed me act as his girlfriend. He better had a good reason for it.

"My uncle was trying to get me together with the daughter of a business partner. I said I have a girlfriend to get away from it."

I continued looking at Neji, urging him to continue his explanation.

"And I said it's you I'm going out with."

Somehow, I was flattered that I was the one who came into his mind when he told that lie. But then I felt sort of ridiculous so I erased that thought from my head.

"I'll help you out then. After all, I made you go through so much trouble lately."

"Good. We'll go together from our dormitory tomorrow."

"Sure. Will Hinata be there?" Having Hinata around would be the huge support I desperately needed. Though it meant I had to explain to her about the things happening lately. But talking to Hinata was much easier than having to talk sense into Ino Yamanaka. I could imagine Ino making a huge fuss and refusing to believe everything was just an act.

"She will. Her father said he will ask her to go back for dinner as well."

"Thank goodness." I didn't even bother hiding the relief on my face. All there was left to do was explaining the truth to Hinata. Having someone familiar around during that dinner would be great.

Hinata would definitely help me get through it. She wouldn't end up making it worse, would she?

Well, I hoped she wouldn't.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

It was 5 PM the next day and I was sitting on my bed waiting for Tenten to finish taking a shower. She was taking an awfully longer time than usual.

I stood up and went to knock on the bathroom door.

"Why are you taking such a long time? Are you okay?"

I heard the water running and there were a few moments of silence before Tenten answered.

"I'm trying to cool down in here. I'll be done soon!"

Tenten had been nervous since I told her about the dinner yesterday. Even though I kept on reassuring her that everything would be alright, she still acted fidgety all day.

However, I must admit I was feeling equally nervous. I was hoping my father and uncle wouldn't be asking too much questions which could trigger heart attacks.

At least Hinata would be there as support. Tenten had explained the whole situation earlier during lunch.

Hinata wouldn't make things worse, right? I certainly hope she wouldn't. Having to deal with my father and uncle was more than enough.

After what felt like an eternity, Tenten finally came out from the bathroom. She was sighing as she walked over to her bed. She was wearing a beige dress and her hair wasn't in her usual buns. Despite the fact that she was looking paler than usual and her expression wasn't looking very good, she still looked beautiful.

I had already changed into a white top and a pair of jeans when Tenten was taking her sweet time inside the bathroom. I stood up from my bed and walked over to my distressed roommate.

"Let's go."

Tenten gave me an odd as I led her towards my car. She was unusually quiet, which just proved how nervous she really was. I was the one who broke the silence between us while I was driving towards my house.

"Relax, Tenten. My father and uncle are normal human beings. They won't bite."

Tenten shot me yet another odd looked and narrowed her eyes at me.

"Do you really mean that?"

There was yet another silence in the air after Tenten responded. I didn't leave my eyes from the roads as I answered Tenten's question.

"Not really."

Let's just put things this way; the word 'normal' was never used to describe both my father and my uncle.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I was almost dragging myself as I walked through Neji's house. I kept on reminding myself to act normal so I wouldn't end up causing troubles to Neji. I was there to help him out, not making things worse. Furthermore, the thought of Neji having to go on a match making session with another girl made me feel weird inside. I wasn't so sure as to why that thought was enough to piss me off.

I swore I felt my heart skip a beat when I arrived at the dining room. I had been there before but now that Neji's father and uncle were present, the whole place appeared different. There was definitely some tension in the air.

I felt myself calm down a little when I saw Hinata smiling at me. Her younger sister, Hanabi Hyuuga, was sitting beside me and was looking at me with excitement in her eyes. My eyes came in contact with Neji's uncle, who was sitting on the edge of the long dining table. As for Neji's father, he was sitting opposite of Hanabi and turned around to look at me as well.

I hated how small I felt under their intimidating gazes. It didn't help calm me down when I constantly reminded myself that the two of them were just normal human beings. The word 'normal' was just not meant to be used on them.

Neji had to grab my hand and pull me towards my seat when I stood as still as stone. Neji took the seat beside his father and I sat beside him. Despite the fast thumping of my heart against my chest, I still had the ability to properly greet everyone.

"I'm glad you could make it, Tenten."

Hiashi-san's voice was surprisingly not as intimidating as his appearance. He was looking at me with a softer look in his eyes and I found myself smiling back at him as I thanked him for the dinner invitation.

The dinner started well, with some casual conversation going on among us. I was told that Neji and Hinata's mothers were on a long vacation around Europe and wouldn't be back any time soon. Hizashi-san made a comment on how worried Neji's mother was and thought that her son would never find himself a girlfriend. His words made Neji groan and I could only laugh nervously at it.

Apparently, Neji's father and uncle knew about the accident my parents met years ago. They were acquaintances with my parents due to business. Instead of looking at me in pity, the two of them said my brother and I were really strong to have gotten so far without our parents. Their words warmed me and my nervousness was instantly gone. I had always liked it better when people wouldn't look at me like a pitiful puppy because of what happened to my parents. And I am beyond happy to be referred as a strong person for had gotten through the worst time of my life.

My earlier nervousness came back to haunt me when Hanabi changed the topic.

"I have been wondering about something, Tenten nee-san."

I kind of liked the way Hanabi called me 'nee-san' but the mischievous look behind her eyes told me that I should be worried as to what she was about to ask me.

"What is it, Hanabi?" I was smiling at Hanabi as a way to hide the nervousness which was beginning to surface from inside me.

"How did Neji nii-san ask you out?"

I heard Neji choking on the water he was drinking and I could feel my face heating up in an incredible pace.

I looked over at Hinata for help but she was smiling at me while softly giggling.

" _Hinata is enjoying this, isn't she?!"_

I mentally glared at Hinata for the lack of support she was giving and turned slowly towards Hanabi, who was still looking at me with anticipation.

"W-Well." I hated myself for stuttering but my mind was too messed up at that moment and it was a miracle I could bring my voice out. "He just asked?"

Hanabi looked at me suspiciously and she must have noticed that I wasn't very willing to go into details. There weren't any details in the first place.

But Hanabi wasn't giving up on digging out more information.

"Have you two kissed?"

I felt Neji tensing up as I sat as still as stone. It was weird to see Hinata looking as if she could burst out laughing any time soon. At that very moment, I didn't even have the courage to look over at Hiashi-san and Hizashi-san.

When neither Neji nor I spoke at all, Hanabi turned towards her older sister for the information she was craving for.

"I think Neji nii-san and Tenten nee-san are too shy to answer. Why don't you tell us how they're like at school, nee-san?"

I looked at Hinata with pleading eyes. I was trying to tell her to tell her not to say anything to make things worse. And I was seriously hoping she got my message.

She didn't. Either she didn't understand what I was trying to tell her or she knew but chose to go against what I wanted.

Whatever the reason was, Hinata was definitely going all out to make me blush even more than I already did.

"They're always together at school. You can't find one without the other!"

Hinata was telling such a lie with that overexcited smile on her face. It wasn't true at all that I spent all my time with Neji at school. But now that I thought about it, Neji was the one whom I spent most of my time with at school. That was only natural though since we were roommates!

Hinata's words were completely misleading. She was talking as if I willingly spent most of my time with Neji. We lived in the same room; there wasn't much of a choice.

But my thoughts continued running wild and I realized more things about me which I had not thought about before. I often found myself looking for Neji during my spare time. For instant, when Neji wasn't in our room in the evening, I would get bored and would then go look for him. Most of the time, he would be in the basketball court, whether he was there for basketball practice or just playing with some of our classmates.

Or the many times I would go around the school looking for Neji to ask him to go out with me. Sometimes he would try to escape from me when I asked him to go for desserts with me but at the end, he would still accompany me.

I blushed at the realization of the countless numbers of times I was willingly going around to look for Neji.

"Have you ever caught them making out, nee-san?"

Hanabi's question was making my ears burn up even more than it already did. All I could do was look downwards in a failed effort to hide my flushed face.

"Hanabi. You're making Neji and Tenten uncomfortable."

I mentally thanked Hiashi-san for stopping his younger daughter's embarrassing questions. I slowly looked upwards and made eye contact with Hinata. She had a playful grin on her face, something I had never seen before.

" _Hinata is definitely enjoying this."_

And I thought she would be supporting me instead.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

Besides Hanabi's _amazing_ questions, dinner went smoothly. My father and uncle had to leave for a sudden business meeting right after dinner. Before they left, they told Tenten that she should come over for dinner more often.

It actually didn't sound too bad of an idea. Tenten was getting along rather well with my family members. She was beginning to look like she was a part of the family.

I felt myself heating up a little on the cheeks at my own thoughts. I was driving back to our dormitory with Tenten so I was trying not to show the slight blush on my face. I didn't want her to have the slightest clue as to what was going on in my head. Hinata said she wanted to stay at home for a while longer before going back to school. Though something told me she did that so she wouldn't be 'in the way' between Tenten and I.

"Thanks for today."

I had to thank Tenten for the big favor she had done for me. Thanks to her, I didn't have to go through dreadful match making sessions arranged by my uncle. The mere thought of attending one of those was enough to send an uncomfortable shiver down my spine.

"You don't have to thank me. Even though Hanabi asked some really embarrassing questions, overall, the dinner was great. Your father and uncle turn out to be less intimidating than they look. As for Hinata, I can't believe she ganged up with her younger sister to tease us!"

It was definitely a surprise that Hinata acted the way she did. She didn't mean any harm though so it was fine, I guessed.

"Compared to what you went through with my brother, the dinner earlier was a blessing in disguise."

"I have to agree with you on that."

I couldn't imagine anything worse than having to listen to Tenten's brother constantly talking about _those_ matters.

Suddenly, a thought appeared in my mind. A small smile appeared in my face as I changed the route I was taking.

It was still rather early to go back to the dormitory anyway.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I was staring out the window in silence as Neji continued driving. It took a while before I noticed something weird.

"This isn't the way back to school."

"I know." Neji spoke matter-of-factly, which confused me more than I already was.

"Where are you taking me?" There was a sense of urgency in my tone as I asked Neji where he was planning to take me.

"It's a secret."

"Are you trying to kidnap me?!" I tensed up on my seat as I glared at Neji. He was being unusually suspicious, after all.

"I am planning to do more than just kidnapping you, Tenten." Neji gave me what seemed a lot like a perverted smirk and I punched him on the arm in reflex.

"You're a huge pervert, Neji!"

"Hey, I'm driving right now." Neji winced in pain and rolled his eyes at me.

"It's your fault for saying such a perverted thing!" I pouted at him and sent deadly glares over to him.

"I'm just joking. We're almost there."

I looked around, trying to see if I could recognize where I was. Everything seemed so foreign so I didn't have the slightest clue as to where I was.

I had no other choice but to sit back and patiently wait until we reached wherever Neji was taking me.

After a short while, Neji stopped the car by a lake. There were several cars spread across the spacious area and I spotted people strolling or sitting by the lake. It was quite late already but the moonlight made it possible to see the surroundings.

I got off the car and felt the night chill touching my skin. I heard the soft currents of the nearby lake and also the vague voices of people around us. I saw Neji approaching the lake and I followed close behind.

I didn't notice a stone on the ground and lost my balance. I closed my eyes and was prepared to hit the ground underneath me. Instead of that, however, I felt something soft across my waist and there was warmth on my hand.

I opened my eyes and saw that Neji had prevented me from falling ungracefully onto the ground. His face was very close to mine and I couldn't do anything to prevent the blush on my face. I took note of his handsome features and I wondering how I never noticed how beautiful his white eyes were.

It didn't take long before Neji's face reflected the blush on my own face. He abruptly let go of his hands from my waist but he was still holding onto my hand.

"The ground here is quite bumpy. I wouldn't want you to end up falling onto the ground. It would be troublesome if you got hurt."

Somehow, Neji's words sounded a lot like an excuse but I chose to not ask more about it.

He should know I wouldn't mind if he said he just wanted to hold my hand.

But he wouldn't know that if I didn't tell him, would he?

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

I often heard people saying that there are fireflies flying all over this place at night. I never got the chance to see it for myself though. But earlier at the car, this thought suddenly appeared in my head and I figured it could be a good idea to bring Tenten here.

It was to thank her for the favor she did for me.

Alright, who am I trying to lie. I just wanted to come here with her.

I was starting to feel like an idiot for constantly lying to myself. Especially when it was getting even more obvious that I had feelings for Tenten. But I wasn't sure if confessing was a good idea.

The thought of getting rejected by Tenten was depressing enough. I couldn't even begin to imagine how it would be like if she really did reject me. I groaned softly at the thought and tried to focus on the present time.

Tenten's hand was small and soft compared to mine. And there was heat radiating from our intertwined hands. I wasn't sure if the heat was coming from me or Tenten though. Or perhaps it was from the two of us.

We stood by the lake for quite some time, staying quiet as we stared straight in front of us. I saw Tenten turning towards me, looking like she was about to say something. But she was interrupted from the sudden appearance of the fireflies.

Her eyes immediately went to the swarm of beautiful fireflies. Their lights covered the entire area in an instant. It was as mesmerizing as people often said. I saw how Tenten's eyes light up at the sight and her smile was as bright as the fireflies she was admiring.

"This is so beautiful!" Tenten couldn't keep her eyes away from the countless fireflies surrounding us. She looked almost like an overexcited child and I found myself smiling as I looked over at her.

As for me, among the fascinating fireflies around me, there was someone I found more beautiful than them. And needless to say, it was the girl whose hand I was holding onto. I tightened my grip on her hand as I made a decision which could make a big change in my life.

It was time for me to stop lying to myself so much. I should start acting more honest for the sake of my own sanity.

I had fallen in love with my overly enthusiastic roommate.

And perhaps if I would stop suppressing my obvious feelings, everything which started from a lie could become a reality.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Are you curious on what Neji will do next? If you do, please look forward to the next chapter! Reviews will be highly appreciated and please go ahead and drop some suggestions if you want. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next chapters!


	10. Desperation

Author's Note: Thanks for the review, _Yukiko'Yuli_! You're such an awesome supporter (insert thumbs up). It doesn't feel like a long time has passed since I started this fanfic and here we are at chapter 10! Anyway, I hope everyone will enjoy reading this chapter!

Chapter 10: Desperation

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I had fallen in love with my overly dashing roommate, hadn't I?

It was few minutes after 11 PM when we returned from the lake. After taking a shower, Neji fell asleep almost immediately. As for me, I was wide awake.

Thoughts had been running through my head and I just couldn't bring myself to sleep. My mind kept on wondering if I really had fallen in love with Neji. For someone who never exactly knew what love was, it was definitely a difficult question to answer.

It felt different being around Neji compared to the times I spent with Deidara in the past. With Deidara, I felt comfortable and happy. But there wasn't anything more than that. I just couldn't imagine a future with Deidara. It was like I wasn't even afraid to lose him.

It wasn't like that with Neji. Whenever I'm with him, I always anticipated spending more time with him in the future. I wasn't simply focusing on the present time but I thought further ahead. At first, I thought I was like that because I enjoyed him company. But after recent events, I had realized it was something more than that.

When Neji held my hand by the lake, I really didn't want him to let go. I wanted him to continue holding onto me even though the grounds weren't bumpy anymore. Disappointment came rushing throughout my body when he let go of my hand and I hated that feeling.

It felt like Neji would one day leave me and that thought alone was enough to scare me.

I had definitely fallen in love with my white eyed roommate. But what could I do?

I mean, what were the chances that someone as perfect as Neji Hyuuga would feel the same for someone as ordinary as me?

I tried not to sigh too loudly since I wouldn't want to wake Neji up. I really couldn't handle having to talk to Neji without falling in love all over again.

It was too painful to deepen my love for him if he didn't love me back.

I was beyond frustrated as thoughts continued running marathons around my mind. I groaned and reached for my phone. I was desperately in need of help. I opened WhatsApp and decided to ask for assistance from three of my closest female friends. I really couldn't think of anyone else to turn to. And it was safer to discuss this matter through WhatsApp. I couldn't risk having anyone eavesdropping on our conversation.

* * *

 _Tenten created group "Please Help"_

 _Tenten added Sakura Haruno_

 _Tenten added Ino Yamanaka_

 _Tenten added Hinata Hyuuga_

Tenten: Is anyone awake?

Ino: I am! It's too early to be asleep.

Sakura: I am too. Is something wrong, Tenten? The name of the group is worrisome.

Hinata: Is there something bothering you, Tenten?

Tenten: I have a problem.

Ino: Are you pregnant?

Tenten: What?! No!

Sakura: You're the only one who would have a problem like that, pig.

Ino: Shut up, forehead! I am completely aware of the existence of protection.

Hinata: Calm down, guys. Let's listen to what has been bothering Tenten.

Sakura: Ignore Ino, Tenten. Tell us what's wrong.

Tenten: I think I'm in love with Neji.

Ino: How is that a problem?!

Hinata: Oh my goodness, I'm so happy.

Sakura: Oh she finally admits it.

Ino: About time. I thought I'll grow grey hair already by the time she admits it.

Tenten: How is this not a problem?! Neji will never like me back.

Ino: Are you serious?

Sakura: Oh Kami-sama, why is she such an idiot?

Hinata: Why are you so blind, Tenten?

Ino: Oh my goodness, even Hinata is pissed off.

Tenten: What do you guys mean?!

Ino: Tenten. It is so obvious that he likes you!

Sakura: Way too obvious. Don't you ever notice how he glares at every guy who stares at you?

Ino: Does it ever occur to you why guys from school never exactly get close to you? I mean, you're a gorgeous girl and very talented! Guys will definitely want to talk to you.

Sakura: But nobody had ever gotten as close as to get your number. Have you wondered what the reason behind that is?

Tenten: I never really notice that. But I guess it's because I am scary?

Ino: Well, it's true that the guys are scared but it's not because of you.

Hinata: It's because Neji nii-san is scaring them too much.

Sakura: How could you not notice these, Tenten? Unbelievable.

Ino: Even someone as clueless as Naruto noticed. I can't believe you, Tenten!

Tenten: Well, maybe he is just doing that as a friend! Maybe he just doesn't want them to bother me.

Ino: Oh Kami-sama, can you bring some common sense into this girl's head?

Sakura: If you want to prove it yourself, why don't you just confess?

Tenten: I can't bring myself to do that!

Ino: Then why don't you try to flirt with him and see how he reacts?

Tenten: What?! I can't do that too!

Hinata: Just kiss him in the morning when you wake him up. See how he reacts to that.

Ino: Oh my, I wouldn't have expected Hinata to come up with something like that.

Sakura: Do it, Tenten. Stop being an idiot and see the truth for yourself.

Tenten: There must be a better way to do this!

Ino: Either you confess or you kiss him. It's your choice.

Sakura: You better do it, Tenten. We can't stand how clueless you had been.

Hinata: Do it, Tenten.

Tenten: What have I done to deserve this?

Ino: Being such a blind idiot all this time.

Sakura: I can't agree more.

Tenten: …

* * *

I did not have enough courage to confess, that was for sure. My mind had used up every last piece of brain cell and I still couldn't think of a better way to find out Neji's feelings for me.

It looked like I didn't have much of a choice.

* * *

"Neji, wake up."

Why did I even bother to wake Neji up by shaking his shoulder? I knew how futile that was. Perhaps I was just buying some time before doing what my friends told me to.

" _Is this really alright? I mean, it's like I'm stealing his first kiss. Wait, hang on. I don't have to kiss him on the lips, do I? I can just give him a peck on the cheek or something."_

I took a deep breath before kneeling beside the bed. I could feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest as I got closer to Neji's sleeping face. The fact that he looked extremely good looking while asleep didn't help calm me down at all.

" _Get a hold of yourself and do it, Tenten."_

And so I did it.

I timidly kissed Neji on the cheeks and I had to say that his skin was as soft as it looked. I felt myself heat up almost immediately at the contact.

And I felt like I was about to explode in embarrassment when I made eye contact with a very shocked Neji.

I quickly backed away from the bed and stood up. I covered half of my face with my hand, desperately trying to hide my flushed face. Neji, on the other hand, just stared at me in shock and I noticed his face turning redder by the second.

He wasn't saying a word and that scared the hell out of me.

" _What have you done, Tenten?"_

"I-It's getting late and I had to wake you up. A-Anyway, I'll get going first!"

I was never so glad to have already taken a shower and was ready to get to class. But I found myself cursing when I realized there was plenty of time left before class would start for the day.

Neji would definitely know that I was lying.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

" _What just happened?"_

The first thing that registered onto my mind when I woke up was the softness I felt on my cheek. It felt very warm and comfortable but it was a foreign feeling. I definitely didn't expect it was Tenten kissing me on the cheeks.

And she ran off before I could say anything.

My face was burning and the spot where Tenten's lips touched me burnt with even more heat. I couldn't begin to understand what was going on and I groaned in frustration.

" _I need a cold shower."_

For the rest of the day, Tenten had been openly avoiding me. She would look away immediately whenever we made eye contact. She didn't say a single word at all.

She was acting weird and I really had no clue what was going on in that head of hers.

I had tried to talk to her for a few times but she would walk away in an instant. She wasn't even trying to avoid me discreetly.

When class ended, I wanted to use the time to talk to Tenten. However, not surprisingly, she was already gone. I sighed and decided to walk back to our room. I was never so glad that basketball practice was cancelled that day because our coach had something urgent to attend to. I wasn't exactly in an ideal state for basketball practice.

Tenten wasn't inside the room when I entered. I slumped onto my bed and took my phone out. I was desperately in need of answers and I didn't know what to do. And being the desperate person I was, I decided to ask help from some people whom I assumed might have some ideas on how to deal with my current situation.

* * *

 _Neji Hyuuga created group "Desperate"_

 _Neji Hyuuga added Naruto Uzumaki_

 _Neji Hyuuga added Sasuke Uchiha_

 _Neji Hyuuga added Shikamaru Nara_

 _Neji Hyuuga added Kiba Inuzuka_

 _Neji Hyuuga added Shino Aburame_

Naruto: Dude, are you in desperate need of girls? I know a good place, you know.

Neji: No, idiot.

Kiba: Are you in desperate need of some fun? We can go out tonight!

Neji: No.

Shikamaru: Are you in desperate need of Tenten?

Neji: What?

Sasuke: Looks like Shikamaru is right.

Naruto: Don't tell me you were so desperate and did something inappropriate to Tenten!

Neji: What the hell, Naruto. No.

Kiba: You can't blame Naruto for thinking that way.

Shino: It's because Tenten had been avoiding you all day today.

Shikamaru: Like you're some sort of plague or something.

Neji: I wasn't the one who made things awkward between us.

Naruto: Something did happen! What happened?! Did you guys do _it_?

Neji: NO.

Sasuke: Did you kiss her?

Neji: Why are you guys assuming it was me who did something?

Shino: It's because you're always desperately trying to chase away all the guys who tries to get close to her.

Neji: …

Sasuke: So what happened?

Neji: She kissed me this morning.

Naruto: SHE STOLE YOUR FIRST KISS?

Neji: NO. It was just on the cheek. But she freaked out and left before I could say anything. Then she acted weird for the entire day. I have no idea what is she thinking.

Kiba: Things are getting interesting, aren't they?

Sasuke: Why don't you just go to her and ask her about it directly?

Naruto: Or even better, go to her and kiss her on the lips! Show her the right way to kiss!

Shikamaru: I think Tenten will be the one who show Neji how to kiss.

Shino: It's because Neji never kissed.

Neji: Shut up. I will not do that.

Naruto: Oh come on, Neji. You two are taking forever to progress! Just kiss her and show her how you feel! How difficult is that?

Shikamaru: The idiot is right. Stop acting like a troublesome virgin.

Sasuke: He _is_ a virgin.

Shino: It's because he never had sex.

Kiba: Shino Aburame, you made my day.

Neji: Shut up. I won't do that.

Sasuke: Either you be a man and kiss her or she'll ignore you forever.

Naruto: Just do it.

Kiba: Do it before it's too late.

Shino: It's because someone might steal her from you.

Sasuke: And when that happens, don't come crying to us like a baby.

Neji: What have I done to have gotten myself into this mess?

Naruto: Being a coward and not expressing your love clearly.

Sasuke: For once, Naruto is right.

Shikamaru: For once in his life, Naruto sounds smart.

Kiba: Naruto has never sounded so wise.

Shino: It's because Naruto is usually an idiot.

Naruto: Shut up!

Sasuke: Anyway, you better do it, Neji.

Neji: …

* * *

" _Is there really no other way?"_

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I couldn't bring myself to go back to my room and be in close proximity with Neji. Not after what I did that morning and how I acted afterwards.

I was hanging out at one of the gardens at school with Sakura, Ino and Hinata. I dragged them along with me right after classes were over. I told them everything, about what I did in the morning and how I ran away like a scared rabbit.

And I also told them how I had been avoiding Neji for the entire day.

Needless to say, my friends were unhappy about what I did. They said I shouldn't have avoided Neji that way. I knew they were right but I just couldn't bring myself to look at him in the eyes. I was worried that he might be angry at me for what I did and I just couldn't bear to see him glaring at me in anger.

I was scared he might end up hating me.

I was told that I was stupid to be feeling that way. But my mind was too messed up to think logically and I was beyond confused.

I had gotten myself into a big pile of trouble and I didn't know how to get myself out of it.

When my friends were already fed up with me, they pulled me from the grass and told me to go back to my room. Ino had a date with Shikamaru and ran off before any of us could stop her. As for Sakura, she wanted to borrow some books so she went to the library. Hinata said that her father needed her to be home for an urgent matter so she walked to the main lobby where a car was waiting for her.

And I was left alone.

I sighed as I walked towards the dormitory. I really didn't want to go back to my room that fast. I wasn't mentally prepared to meet Neji.

I took a longer route back to the dormitory and walked pass the outdoor basketball court. There was a bench on the sides of the court and I decided to sit for a while.

The sun was setting and the skies looked beautiful. The warm air was slowly turning into the night's chilly breeze and it felt cold against my skin. It felt nice just sitting there and staring at the mesmerizing colors of the skies above me.

It was peaceful and serene. And it would have been even better if I could get my mind to stop thinking about Neji.

I never knew love was this difficult to handle.

I was just enjoying the scenery in front of me when someone suddenly blocked my way. I was startled to see who it was.

Like I had said, I wasn't mentally ready for this.

"N-Neji."

I hated myself for stuttering and abruptly standing from the bench. For the first time in a while, I looked into Neji's eyes and felt myself blush almost immediately. In reflex, I looked away but was surprised when Neji grabbed onto my chin and wrapped his arm around my waist.

He turned my head back to him and all I could do was staring at him in confusion. I couldn't begin to make out what he was thinking. His expressions were unreadable and he wasn't saying anything. I found myself gulping nervously as I stared into his beautiful white eyes.

Why must he be so charming at a time like this?

All of a sudden, my eyes caught sight of something equally surprising. At the corner of my eye, I saw Deidara standing by a tree and he appeared shock as he stared at us. I didn't understand why he was there in the first place.

I looked over at Neji and noticed that he was glancing at the direction where Deidara was. His expressions were becoming even more unreadable by the second and I really wanted to know what he was thinking.

I was about to ask Neji why he was holding onto me like that but was silenced in the most unexpected way.

Neji was kissing me. Everything felt so unreal and I couldn't believe that I was living in reality. What was going on? I simply had no idea.

But the softness of Neji's lips on mine was definitely real. It felt comforting and warm and I couldn't get enough of it. Was it wrong of me to want more of these feelings in the future?

And was it wrong of me to hope that this wasn't an act and it was his true feelings?

I was desperately in need of answers.

Because I desperately wanted him to love me back.

* * *

 _Naruto Uzumaki created group "Neji is an idiot"_

 _Naruto Uzumaki added Sasuke Uchiha_

 _Naruto Uzumaki added Shikamaru Nara_

 _Naruto Uzumaki added Kiba Inuzuka_

 _Naruto Uzumaki added Shino Aburame_

Naruto: Do you guys think Neji did it?

Kiba: Probably.

Shino: He did. It is because I just saw him kissing Tenten at the outdoor basketball court.

Naruto: Oh, Kami-sama, finally.

Sasuke: Neji isn't that big of an idiot, after all.

Shikamaru: But he must be an idiot if Naruto calls him one.

Sasuke: To be called an idiot by the biggest idiot is definitely the worst possible insult.

Naruto: Why do you guys keep on insulting me?!

Shino: It is because you're the biggest idiot I had ever met in my life, Naruto.

Kiba: Shino Aburame, once again, you made my day.

Naruto: Teme!

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Are you curious on what will happen next? Look forward for the next chapter if you do! Please leave a review to share with me your thoughts on this fanfic. Suggestions are highly appreciated as well. Your reviews are valuable and everyone's opinion matters a lot to me! Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next chapter as well!


	11. The Confessions

Author's Note: Thank you for your positive review, _Minatzali_! Reviews like yours that makes me want to update as fast as I can. Please continue supporting this fanfic!

Chapter 11: The Confessions

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

Was it wrong for me to hope that she felt the same about me?

It felt as if time had stopped as we kissed under the skies. Her lips were so soft and alluring, making me wanting more. Having her in my arms was like a dream had come true.

A dream which I wished I didn't have to wake up from.

When we pulled away to catch our breaths, I noticed that Deidara was already gone. I was so into Tenten earlier that I had not noticed him walking away. But that didn't really matter.

I focused my attention on Tenten and saw how flushed she was. Her ears were burning red and she was trying to hide her blushing face from me. It was futile though, since I could clearly see the deep shade of red coloring her skin.

It took Tenten a while to find her voice and speak. She sounded nervous and perhaps a little bit hesitant.

"D-Deidara is already gone. It's fine now."

It was understandable that she thought I did what I did because he was there. But I wasn't going to allow her to continue misunderstanding. At that moment, I decided to tell her the truth. Yes, it would be very painful if I got rejected. But there was no point of doing nothing and pretending I didn't love her.

I wouldn't know how things would end if I wasn't being honest, that was for sure.

"I didn't kiss you because he was there."

Tenten jumped a little at my words and slowly put her hand away from her face. She looked into my eyes and I could see she was confused.

I knew that I needed to be more straightforward. It would be utterly embarrassing but at that moment, I didn't care anymore.

Getting embarrassed meant nothing if it were to happen for the woman I loved.

"I love you, Tenten."

And with those words said, it felt like a huge rock was lifted from my once troubled heart.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

" _Did Neij just say he loves me?"_

I looked into Neji's eyes for confirmation. The loving way he was looking at me was proof that I didn't mishear him.

The man I found myself falling heads over heels in love with actually felt the same towards me.

What more could I ask?

I was too happy that my voice was lost once again. I couldn't bring myself to speak and I wasn't even sure what I was supposed to say.

When words weren't enough to describe the happiness swelling inside me, what was I supposed to do?

Fortunately for me, my tears of joy decided to convey my feelings. However, Neji didn't seem to understand the meaning behind my falling tears and started to panic.

"What's wrong?! Why are you crying? I'm sorry for suddenly confessing like that. If you don't feel the same towards me, you can just tell me the truth. I don't want you to force yourself or anything, Tenten. I-"

Still unable to find my missing voice, I allowed my actions to speak up for me. I wrapped my arms around Neji's neck and pulled him down for another kiss. It was as gentle as our first kiss and I found myself getting addicted to it.

And I was glad that I would be getting more chances to kiss Neji from then onwards.

I saw how shocked Neji looked when I pulled away from him. The sight made me giggle and my earlier nervousness had vanished completely. And finally, I managed to find my voice again.

"I love you, Neji."

How could I not love such a perfect man?

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

Was it possible for a person to be so happy that he forgot how to think properly?

I wasn't even sure if I was making any sense. But when Tenten told me that she loved me, I felt like my whole mind became blank. It was as if my brain wasn't able to think of anything else other than Tenten.

It was like nothing else mattered at that very moment.

Simply following my instincts, I pulled Tenten into an embrace. I heard her giggling and it brought a wide smile on my face. I tightened my hug when I felt her arms wrapping my body. I could feel her warmth on my skin and everything felt so unbelievable.

"How long are you intending to hug me, Neji?"

"I honestly have no plans of letting go."

"I'm happy to hear that but right now, I'm starving."

I chuckled as I pulled away from our embrace. I kissed her softly on her forehead as she let out a carefree laughter. After we let go of each other, we held hands as we headed towards the canteen.

Both Tenten and I decided to not hold hands in front of our friends for several reasons. Firstly, they would definitely make a huge fuss out of it. With people as loud as Naruto and Ino, it wouldn't take much of their effort before everyone's attention would go to us. And honestly speaking, that wasn't something the two of us wanted. Second of all, even though we were both happy that we got together, getting bombarded by questions from our classmates wasn't an attractive offer. And lastly, we just wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet for the time being.

Unfortunately for us, our friends seemed to have noticed the change between us just through observation alone.

Smirks were exchanged between the guys while the girls didn't even bother to hide their giggles. I greatly appreciated them for not saying anything in public though.

But I knew my friends wouldn't be letting me go that easily.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

Right after I finished eating dinner, Ino was impatiently pulling me away from the table. She was in such a hurry that I didn't get to say anything to Neji. As I got dragged away, I turned my head over my shoulder and saw Neji looking confused.

Sakura and Hinata followed us closely and both of them had mischievous grins on their face.

I wasn't sure if I should be happy or frustrated that my friends were such smart observers.

Ino had dragged me all the way to the garden where we hung out earlier. I was pushed onto one of the benches and my friends were looking at me like they were some sort of predators.

I feigned ignorance and smiled innocently at my friends.

"What is it?"

"Stop pretending, Tenten. Something happened for sure. And we want every single detail!"

Ino was smirking as she demanded me to start talking. I instantly gave up trying to act stupid and began telling them everything. I knew I was blushing whenever I mentioned about the kisses I had with Neji. It was embarrassing but I was definitely happy about it.

And my friends were obviously happy for me as well.

"Oh my goodness, you two are finally together!" Ino was squealing excitedly and was jumping around.

Hinata held my hands and looked equally happy.

"I'm so happy for you, Tenten. I'm glad it's you Neji Nii-san fell in love with."

I felt myself blushing at Hinata's words and thanked her for her kind words. Truth be told, I still found it unbelievable that Neji loved me back. He was such a perfect person. And I was a clumsy and overactive Tenten.

I guessed Neji had unique taste in girls.

I giggled at the thought and didn't notice Sakura sitting beside me. She poked me on the cheek and I jumped in surprise.

"Look at you, Tenten. You're so happy that you're starting to daydream."

"Don't tease me, Sakura!"

Sakura, Hinata and I were laughing when Ino suddenly brought up another topic.

"Now that the two of you are together, I wonder what will happen inside that room of yours."

There were a few moments of silence before I slowly turned towards a smirking Ino. She was definitely having fun watching me blush. My face was burning up at an incredible speed as inappropriate thoughts began surfacing in my mind.

"N-Nothing will happen."

I hated the way I stuttered and I saw Ino's smirk getting even more evil by the second.

"I know you know that it is impossible for nothing to happen."

"We just started going out today, Ino. And I'm sure both of us want to take things slowly." My skin was radiating so much heat that I thought I might explode from embarrassment.

"Alright then, Tenten. Let's see how _slow_ the two of you will be."

I honestly did not know how fast or slow we would progress. But only time would bring answers, wouldn't they?

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

"You guys are together now?! That's awesome!"

I told Naruto to keep his voice down but it was useless. We were inside the common room back in our dormitory, where I was forced by my friends to tell them what happened.

It was more embarrassing than I thought to be telling others about what had occurred back there with Tenten. But from the looks on their face, I knew they wouldn't be letting me go unless I told them everything they wanted to know.

"Things will start to get interesting in that room of yours." Kiba smirked at me before bursting out in laughter. Naruto and Chouji joined in and the room was soon filled with their uproar. I tried not to show that I felt disturbed by their words and tried my best to stay cool.

But as expected, my friends just wouldn't stop adding unnecessary details into the conversation.

"Neji's room is right beside Sasuke's, right? You better keep your voices down or else your best friend can't sleep at night."

Naruto laughed at his own joke and I narrowed my eyes at Sasuke who was starting to smirk. My stare became a glare when Sasuke just had to open that mouth of his.

"That's right, Neji. Do me a favor and make sure you keep your voices down to the minimum. I don't wish to be aware of your activities as I try to get some sleep."

I didn't respond to Sasuke and just continued glaring at my laughing friends. It was Naruto who spoke afterwards.

"And if you need some protection and don't have any with you, just ask from the guy in the room in front of yours. He has a whole lot of them."

Shikamaru realized it was him that Naruto meant and was shooting him a deadly glares.

Naruto, obviously, wasn't affected by them and continued making fun of Shikamaru and the large amount of protection in his possession.

"Alright, that's enough, Naruto." Sasuke suddenly became serious, much to my surprise. He was looking at me intently and I was anticipating what he was about to say. Judging from his looks, it must be something important.

And his next words had proved that I had never been so wrong in my life.

"I need to remind you once more not to scream your lungs out. Sleep is very precious for me."

I swore that my friends would one day be the death of me.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

My friends took a lot of time telling me a whole bunch of embarrassing stuffs. Ino kept giving me advices that I honestly didn't want to hear. But it wasn't because it was useless, but I felt like I could explode due to excessive embarrassment.

Ino advised me regarding more things that I deemed necessary. She even told me about some 'effective' ways on pleasuring a partner. I swore I wanted to shut her up so badly but she was unstoppable.

As for Sakura, I couldn't believe my ears when she told me to 'keep it down'. She constantly reminded me that she lived right next to my room and didn't want 'sexual voices' to disturb her beauty sleep.

It came to a point that I wasn't sure if my friends were genuinely concerned about me or they just wanted to embarrass the hell out of me.

When things became unbearable, I turned towards Hinata for help. She had been quiet during the entire dreadful conversation and I confidently assumed she would help me shut Ino and Sakura up. After all, she was blushing so much so I was sure she wanted them to stop talking as well.

I swore I had never been so wrong.

Hinata, who was still blushing, said something I couldn't believe she would have said.

"I'm glad you'll be my cousin's first time, Tenten."

All my friends were out of their minds.

When I arrived at my room, I saw that Neji showered and had just left the bathroom. I felt my earlier blush rushing back to my face when I saw that he was topless. It was not the first time seeing him in that state but after the conversation I had with my _wonderful_ friends, I had unconsciously allowed my mind to wander to the wrong places.

I quickly grabbed my clothes and ran into the bathroom to make sure Neji didn't how red my face was. I tried to act as normal as I could and greeted him like usual so that I wouldn't raise any suspicion.

But Neji definitely saw through me and I felt like a big idiot as I closed the bathroom door behind me.

And I would truly appreciate it if my heart would just stop thumping so crazily and calm down.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

It was obvious that Tenten must have gone through something similar to what I had.

I dried my hair with my towel and put on a white top above my grey sweatpants. Even though an embarrassed Tenten was adorable, I should do her a favor and put on some clothes. She looked like she could faint from the heat on her body.

I was browsing through my phone as I waited for Tenten to finish showering. She was taking an unusually long time and I had a clear idea what the reason was.

The girls must have given her a dreadful _talk_ if she ended up as flushed as she was.

I looked over my shoulder when I heard the bathroom door opened. Tenten was wearing a beige pajama dress which reached her mid thigh. Her hair was down and she was drying her hair with her towel.

Why must she look so sexy at a time like this?

The earlier conversation my friends had forced me into had affected me in ways I wished it didn't. I sort of hated myself for having certain inappropriate thoughts by just looking at Tenten.

" _She deserves more respect than this, Neji Hyuuga."_

Tenten was humming as she dried her hair and from what I observed, her earlier tension had completely vanished. She was much more relaxed and her skin was back to its original color.

When she had finished drying her hair, she walked towards me and sat beside me on the bed. She was grinning at me before wrapping her hands around my arm. I felt myself blush slightly upon the contact but I knew I shouldn't overreact over such a small gesture.

And if I really did overreact, I would blame it on those guys for their unnecessary conversation.

"I'm so happy."

Tenten muttered more to herself but I heard her clearly. She was smiling as she tightened her grip around my arm. Seeing her looking so beautiful made me want to feel more of her against my skin. But I knew Tenten would rather take things slowly.

Anyway, we had all the time in the world to take baby steps.

Well, at least I hoped I had enough self control to take small steps one at a time.

I released my arm from Tenten's grip and wrapped it around her shoulder. She giggled at my gesture and rested her head on my chest. We stayed that way for a long time as we talked about anything that came into our minds.

Once in a while, Tenten would remind me how happy she was that I loved her and I would respond by planting loving kisses on her forehead. Tenten seemed to like that a lot so I mentally decided to do that more often.

As we continued talking, an idea suddenly came up to my head. I was hesitant at first since I wasn't sure if Tenten would like the idea. But I decided to give it a try anyway.

"Tenten." The girl in my arms looked at me upon hearing her name. I ruffled her hair playfully since she was giving me such an adorable look. "My father and uncle asked me to go on an overseas trip this weekend to help them check out some overseas factories. I was wondering, do you want to go with me?"

Tenten suddenly released herself from my arm and reached closer to my face. Her hands were on my lap as she looked straight at me. Excitement was apparent in her beautiful brown eyes and I took it as a good sign.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Neji?!"

"I guess I am."

Seeing how excited Tenten was, I couldn't believe that I thought for a second that she might reject my offer. She removed herself from my lap and went back to her position earlier. I wrapped my arms around her again as she asked for details about our trip this weekend.

"When are we going?"

"The flight will be on the evening of Friday. We'll head to the airport after school ends."

"And when are we coming back?"

"The flight back to Japan will be on Sunday night. So we won't need to skip school on Monday."

"Oh, how could I forget the most important question?" Tenten slapped her forehead in frustrated and I chuckled at the sight. She had a foolish grin on her face as she turned towards me for her final question. "Where exactly are we going?"

I smiled before answering my overactive girlfriend.

"South Korea."

And I swore Tenten's energy increased by ten folds and I never thought that was even possible.

* * *

Author's Note: They finally got together! (insert happy fan girl grin) And they're going on an overseas date too. If you're curious as to what will happen to the couple during their trip to South Korea, stay tuned to the next chapters! And as usual, please leave a review on your way out. Each and every one of your opinion matters a whole lot to me! Follows and favorites are highly appreciated as well! And so are suggestions, so feel free to share them with me through reviewing. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!


	12. Overseas Trip

Author's Note: _Yukiko'Yuli_ , your review made me laugh! And I'll watch out for repetition, thank you!

Chapter 12: Overseas Trip

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

It was Thursday, a day before the trip to South Korea. My father and uncle asked me to go home after school ended to give me more instructions on what I had to do there.

"The factories in South Korea have just opened recently. Your job is to check the place out and see if things are going smoothly."

My uncle spoke as he sat behind his desk in his study room while father and I sat on the two chairs in front of him.

"I understand." I nodded confidently. It didn't sound like a difficult task.

"Is it alright for you to go alone? Do you need me to send someone with you?" My uncle was staring into my eyes, which was something he often did. And he barely blinks. Others would be sweating in fear by now but I was used to the aura he gave off.

I remained silent for a while as I thought of a way to tell them that I had asked Tenten to go with me. I wasn't so sure what their reaction would be like.

"It's fine. Actually, I asked Tenten to go with me and she agreed."

Then there was a strange silence in the room, which made me very uncomfortable.

" _Did I say something wrong?"_

"Hizashi, did you give him the _talk_ already?" My uncle turned his gaze towards my father.

Oh Kami-sama, not again.

"I tried." My father answered, followed by a sigh.

There was another silence among us before my uncle called my name.

"Neji."

"I understand what you wish to say, Uncle." I assured him before he could continue what he wanted to say. In all honestly, I really didn't want to hear him saying anything about _that_.

My uncle was looking at me in the eyes again and I did the same. I tried not to blink as I waited for my uncle to speak again.

"Very well, Neji. I believe you're smart enough to know what to do. And I believe you're smart enough to bring along _necessary items_ for your trip."

Could someone just kill me on the spot?

I managed a weak nod and left the room with my head facing the floor. I didn't want to show the two older Hyuugas my burning red face.

"Have fun, Neji."

That was what I heard from my father before I closed the door behind me.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

"I'm so excited for you, Tenten!"

Ino had been squealing non-stop since I told her about my trip with Neji. She kept on saying how it was unbelievable for the stoic Neji Hyuuga to have a romantic side.

I actually agreed with her.

Sakura, Ino and Hinata were inside my room after school ended to help me pack. Neji had went back home to meet his father and uncle. I had started packing few days ago so I was almost done. It was summer in South Korea at that time so I made sure the clothes I was bringing were suitable.

"Tenten, a thought came to my mind and I just have to ask you this." I turned towards Sakura, who had a small smirk on her face. Somehow, it reminded me of Sasuke. She definitely had been spending too much time with that emotionless Uchiha.

Everyone knew there was something going on between those two.

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Are you and Neji going to sleep in the same room?" Sakura was still giving me that look.

"I guess? But we have been roommates for some time now so I don't mind."

Ino was the one who continued the little 'interrogation'.

"Let me rephrase forehead's question. Are the two of you going to sleep on the same bed?"

And the silence appeared as I blinked slowly at my friends.

"That never crossed my mind." I answered truthfully. I had been so excited for the trip that I didn't exactly pay attention to the details. Now that my friends mentioned it, would I be sleeping on the same bed as Neji?

" _Not that I mind. It will be warm and comfortable cuddling with him. But what if he wanted more than just cuddling? What if he wanted 'that'?"_

Then in the next instant, my face exploded with embarrassment and I was burning red.

I turned around to hide my flushed face from my friends but it was too late. I heard Sakura and Ino's roaring laughter and I swore I heard Hinata's soft giggling.

"Looks like Tenten is having some dirty thoughts in that head of hers." I snapped my head towards Ino for her accusing, yet true, words. Her laughter got louder when she caught another glimpse of my face.

"Alright, girls. Let's go before Tenten faint from embarrassment." Sakura was still laughing as she pulled Ino and Hinata out of my room.

I continued glaring at my friends until the door closed behind them.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

I returned to my room in the dormitory after I had dinner at my home. I was beyond glad that my father and uncle didn't mention _that_ anymore. However, I did notice the odd looks they were giving me during dinner. I ignored all of them to prevent the start of a much dreaded conversation.

When I opened the door to my room and closed it behind me, I was welcomed by a bear hug from Tenten.

That had been her way to greet me for the past few days.

I pulled Tenten away to plant a kiss on her forehead. I found out that she liked it a lot whenever I did that.

"Have you finished packing?" I asked as I walked towards my desk to place my things down. Tenten was clinging onto my arm all the while.

"I'm done. What about you?"

I suddenly remembered the _necessary items_ my uncle mentioned and tried to stop the blush from creeping onto my face. I turned to Tenten with a small smile, wanting to prevent my thoughts from showing on my face.

"Yes, I'm done."

I ruffled Tenten's hair playfully and she pouted when I had messed up her hair. I smirked at the state of her beautiful brown hair, making her frown instead.

Our little interaction was disturbed by the ringing of my phone. I looked at the screen of my phone but I didn't recognize the number of my caller.

"Who is this?"

Tenten peered onto my phone and I saw her tensed up immediately. She slowly raised her head to give me a horrified look.

"I-It's my brother."

"What?" I hissed lowly. I was sure Tenten mentioned that she wouldn't give my phone number to her brother. So, how in the world did he get my number?

Tenten wrapped her hands tightly around my arm as I picked up the call with my free hand.

"Hello." I tried to sound as if I didn't know who was on the other line.

"Neji Hyuuga. This is Tao."

I wasn't even surprised at Tao's dangerous tone.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" I felt Tenten's grip slightly trembling as she stared at me.

"Is it true that you're taking my sister to South Korea tomorrow?"

I knew this was what he wanted to talk about.

"Yes, I am." My confident tone seemed to have relaxed Tenten a little. I smiled at her to assure her that everything was going to be fine.

"I'm calling to make sure you still remember my words back in the restaurant."

Why were people constantly trying to tell me about _that_? Did I appear to be such an irresponsible and brainless teenager?

"I still remember."

There was a short silence in the other side of the call before Tao muttered a word.

"Good."

Before he hung up, I just had to ask a question which had been bothering me.

"Tao, how did you get my number?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

And with that, the call was ended.

"What did my brother say?"

I placed my phone back into my pocket before answering Tenten.

"He just wants to check if I still remember our previous conversation." Tenten's ears turned red as she thought back to that day at the restaurant. It seemed to me that she would never forget the words her brother said.

"How did he get your number?" Tenten changed the topic, obviously not wanting to talk about _that_ discussion we had with her overprotective brother.

"He got it from Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, whom I assumed got it from his younger brother."

" _Sasuke is a betrayer."_ I glared a little at the walls at the far end.

I was brought back to reality when I felt Tenten tugging at my sleeve. She was looking at me with concern in her eyes. I kissed her on the lips softly before reassuring her that everything was fine.

"Don't worry, everything's alright. Anyway, are you excited for tomorrow?"

"You have no idea how excited I am."

And I happily accepted the kiss Tenten returned.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

" _Finally, it's time to go!"_

I was so excited for Friday evening to arrive that I didn't pay much attention in class. Neji had to constantly snap me out of my daydream during lessons.

I couldn't blame myself for anticipating this trip. I had never been to South Korea and I had always wanted to go. But my brother would always be too busy to take me there.

I was humming as Neji drove us to the airport. I was wearing a black top and grey skirt which reached slightly above my knees. I glanced over at Neji, who was wearing a white shirt and long black pants.

He really liked the color white, which was something I had concluded after spending so much time with him.

"You seem to be in a really good mood, Tenten."

I was smiling widely as I looked at Neji, who suddenly placed a hand on mine.

"I am."

When we arrived at the traffic lights and Neji stopped the car, he turned towards me with a smirk on his face. He looked smug yet absolutely gorgeous at the same time.

Sometimes I wondered how I managed to get myself such a handsome boyfriend.

"I can make you _happier_ than you are now, Tenten."

I instantly turned red at his words and snatched my hand away from me. I wanted to look intimidating but the state of my face wasn't helping at all.

"You're a pervert, Neji."

Neji had been teasing me a lot with his innuendoes. But so far, he had yet to do anything to me.

" _Oh, are you serious, Tenten? You just started dating him not too long ago and you're thinking of 'stuffs'?"_

I wondered though, if Neji was just teasing me or he did wish to take things to another level.

Only time could give me answers, I guessed.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

"Neji, where are our boarding passes?"

Tenten looked confused as we walked through the boarding gates without any boarding passes with us. All I did was showing the guard a document and we were allowed to pass.

"We don't have any."

"How in the world are we going to board the plane?" Tenten was looking at me as if I was stupid or something.

"If I'm not mistaken, a boarding pass is not required when one boards a private plane."

Tenten's jaw dropped. And then she slapped herself on the forehead.

"What did I expect? Of course the Hyuugas will travel the world in private planes."

Tenten muttered more to herself but I heard her clearly.

"You looked surprised. Your family owns private planes as well, right?" Tenten reacted as if she had never ridden in one.

"We do. But I don't travel that much so I almost forgot their existence."

I suppressed a chuckle upon hearing Tenten's words and continued leading her towards the Hyuuga's private plane.

The flight from Tokyo to Seoul, South Korea, was approximately two hours. Tenten was sleeping throughout the flight. I allowed her to rest her head on my shoulder so it would be more comfortable for her. As for me, I watched a movie as I held onto Tenten's hand.

"Where are we going first, Neji?"

Tenten asked as we walked towards the arrival hall with our luggage. I offered to help her with her stuff but she refused. She was indeed an independent person, which was one of the many reasons why I loved her.

"We're going to the hotel to put our things down."

"Are we going there using Seoul's subway? I researched about it and if I remembered correctly, it's called Korail."

"Yes, that's what it is called. But we're not using it to get to the hotel. And the subway doesn't reach the airport."

Tenten blinked several times as we walked pass the door to the arrival hall.

"Then how are we getting there? Taxi? Well, taxi is more convenient, I guess. But I want to try out the subway later on!"

Before I could answer Tenten's question, three men in suits approached us. They were Japanese men and bowed to us politely.

"You must be Neji-sama and Tenten-sama. We will be in charge of your transportation during your stay in Seoul."

I bowed back in respond and allowed them to help Tenten and me with our luggage.

As we followed our escorts, Tenten moved closer to me and whispered lowly.

"Private cars and chauffeurs are definitely more convenient than taxis. But I still want to ride the subway at least once."

"Alright." I placed an arm around her shoulder as I made the promise.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

We rode an extremely expensive looking black limousine to get to the hotel.

It was as expected from the Hyuuga family though. I was beginning to get used to it by now.

It wasn't like I hated this sort of lifestyle. It was almost the same as the way my brother and I lived. But I really wanted to experience Seoul like a 'local'. Getting on the subway and walking to our destination. I believed it was the best way to get to know a place.

I would scratch Neji to death if he broke his promise.

Not surprisingly, we had arrived at one of the most expensive and luxurious hotels in Seoul; The Shilla. The three men from earlier walked behind us with our luggage as we made our way to the reception desk. I looked around the lobby while Neji spoke with the woman behind the desk.

The lobby was decorated in a highly elegant way. One look and you would know how expensive the place was. I started to wonder how beautiful the room would be.

Wait, that reminded me of something.

Would our room have two beds or one?

I didn't get to stay inside my thoughts for long because Neji was already done talking to the receptionist. We took the luggage from the men and Neji told them we would leave for dinner in an hour.

I followed Neji into the room. My eyes widened as I stared at the sight in front of me. The walls were painted white and the floor was covered by pine wood. I placed my luggage by the hallway in front of the door and walked inside to get a better look at the place. There was a couch at the end of the room and behind it was a large window which took up the whole wall. I walked pass the plasma TV on the left and went to see the view through the window.

The brilliant lights from Seoul's countless skyscrapers were mesmerizing. I could see the busy roads among the amazing buildings at the distance. I was so fascinated by the view that I didn't that Neji was standing behind me until he suddenly wrapped his arms around me.

"Do you like the room?"

I leaned back onto his chest and took in the warmth against my body.

"It's beautiful. And the view is stunning."

"I'm glad you like it. I'll go take a shower first."

I looked upwards at Neji while nodding and he broke the embrace after giving me a kiss on the cheek. I turned around and watched him opening his luggage to take a change of clothes. He smiled at me before disappearing into the bathroom.

When he was out of my sight, I walked towards the middle of the room and looked around one more time. I liked how the white lights were bright yet they were comforting to the eyes. I sat on the bed and was satisfied with its softness. The white pillows and sheets appeared to be so cozy.

Hang on.

I stood up from the bed at the sudden realization. I stared at the bed I just sat on. There was only one king sized bed, only one.

All the heat inside my body gathered to my face and I slowly went back to take a seat on the bed. I could feel my heart thumping loudly, as if it was on the verge of bursting out. I placed my hands on my chest and I could clearly feel the nervousness inside me.

Was _that_ going to really happen? Was I even ready?

"Tenten."

I stood from the bed in surprise and yelped. I placed a hand onto my mouth, preventing any more weird sounds from coming out of my stupid mouth.

The heat on my face was escalating when my eyes caught sight of Neji's topless body.

" _Why can't I stop blushing whenever I see him shirtless? I've seen it so many times!"_

I slapped my face with both hands while mentally scolding myself. Neji must have noticed my weird behavior because I saw him raising an eyebrow at me.

"Is something wrong, Tenten?"

I was already getting my change of clothes from my luggage when Neji asked. I answered hastily and hated how I smiled in a nervous way. He would definitely see through me.

Neji was the most observant person I had ever met in my life. That was another thing I concluded after all the time I had spent with him.

"N-Nothing, Neji."

And then I escaped into the bathroom to take a cold shower.

For the sake of my sanity, I need to get these thoughts out of my head.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

" _I knew I should ask for a room with two beds."_

Even before we had arrived in Seoul, I had been contemplating whether I should ask for a room with a bed or two. I was worried that Tenten might feel uncomfortable if we were to stay in a room with just one bed. We might have been roommates for quite some time already, but sharing a bed was something else.

So, why did I end up choosing a room with one bed only?

Well, I honestly wanted to hold her as I slept and I really hoped Tenten felt the same way.

But judging from the look on Tenten's face, it was obvious that she was still hesitant regarding the idea. It was quite clear just from looking at her expressions earlier.

I guessed I could leave the problem be for the time being.

I put on a white shirt with long sleeves and a pair of black long pants. It was summer but it wasn't as hot as I had expected. But it was still too hot for me to put on a blazer. To keep myself cool, I chose to leave the first two buttons of my shirt be.

Just when I finished putting on my watch, Tenten came out from the bathroom in her sleeveless black dress which reached her mid thigh. It was tight on the torso part but the skirt was flowing. Overall, Tenten looked perfect.

When she was still drying her wet hair, I gave her a surprise hug and she yelped for the second time that night. I smiled when I heard her adorable giggles and kissed her on the forehead.

"Let me go, Neji. It's almost time to go."

I reluctantly pulled away and frowned slightly. Tenten tip toed and place a quick kiss on my lips. She was still giggling as she continued preparing herself. When she was done putting on her necklace, light makeup and a pair of white heels, we left the hotel room for dinner.

Tenten held onto my arm as we walked towards the car. When we were inside the car, Tenten asked where our destination was.

"You'll see."

"Why are you being so secretive, Neji?" Tenten was pouting and seeing how cute she looked, I pinched her cheek playfully. She began whining and wincing in pain at the same time.

"What's wrong with me wanting to surprise you?" This time I pinched her nose and I chuckled when I saw that I had made Tenten's nose slightly red.

Tenten was about to complain again when the car suddenly stopped.

"We're here, Neji-sama, Tenten-sama."

We heard the chauffeur announced and one of the men opened the door for us.

I held onto Tenten's hand and helped her out of the car. I smirked at how her eyes sparkled as she saw where we were.

"Isn't this the Han River? It's more beautiful in real life compared to the pictures I saw in the Internet!"

Tenten took a few more steps away from the car and I followed her closely in behind. I placed my arm on her waist as she stared at Korea's famous Han River.

"Let's go before the cruise leaves."

"Oh my goodness, are we going to have dinner on a cruise?" Tenten looked at me with widened eyes in disbelief.

"It appears so. But if you continue staying as still as a stone, then we're going to be left behind."

Tenten seemed to be restraining a squeal as she followed me towards the waiting cruise.

The cruise was spacious and the restaurant inside appeared classy. Dim yellow lights were illuminating the whole cruise, giving off a warm and romantic atmosphere. A waiter led us to a table by the window, where we could clearly see the Han River outside.

"You know, we are here at Seoul for just a few hours but I'm already so happy. Thank you, Neji."

Tenten was smiling as she looked straight into my eyes. I returned the smile sincerely and held her hand tightly.

"I promise you, Tenten, I still have a lot of things in store for you."

After all, I was addicted to Tenten's smile and I was planning to see more of it from then onwards.

* * *

Author's Note: So, what exactly does Neji have in mind? Check it out on the next chapter! (insert wink) As usual, please leave a review, dear readers! Follows and favorites are very much appreciated too. Thank you for reading and see you next time!


	13. The Next Step

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites! Keep it going, everyone.

P.S. Just a warning! Due to the sexual contents in this chapter, this fanfic will become M-rated.

Chapter 13: The Next Step

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I never dreamed of having a romantic dinner on a cruise. I never even dreamed of going on an overseas trip with my boyfriend.

Honestly, I didn't even know that love could make me feel so happy.

After we had our dinner, we went out to the deck to enjoy the view. Even though it was summer, the air was rather chilly. But I didn't feel cold at all because Neji was hugging me from behind. I could have squealed like a foolish girl in love but I knew it wasn't an ideal thing to do.

So instead of embarrassing myself, I rested my head against Neji's chest and cherished every moment.

When Neji told me that he had to go visit the factories at 10 AM the next day, I suggested that we should go back to the hotel to rest. We still had time to explore Seoul anyway.

I flopped onto the bed right after I entered our hotel room while Neji went inside the bathroom to change. I felt so comfortable on the bed that I didn't feel like leaving it. Even when I heard Neji had already come out from the bathroom, I stayed on the bed and refused to get off.

"Tenten, change your clothes."

"I don't want to." I spoke as I hid my face on the pillow.

I yelped in surprise when I felt a pair of hands on my waist and they began tickling me mercilessly. I had always been weak against being tickled and I couldn't control my roaring laughter.

"N-Neji, stop! It's ticklish!"

"Get up and go change then."

I ran away from Neji and dashed into the bathroom. I hastily got my change of clothes before doing so.

When I came out from the bathroom in my light blue pajamas dress, I saw that Neji was on the bed watching TV. I jumped onto the bed and gave Neji a light punch on his stomach. That was my revenge for his ruthless tickling earlier.

Neji grabbed onto my wrist and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I felt my face heating up a little and I nuzzled my face on his chest. I giggled softly when Neji ruffled my hair. I pulled away from his chest and was startled when he crashed his lips onto mine.

The kiss was different from the ones we shared previously. The fiery passion behind our contact was apparent and even though it was rougher than usual, I liked it nevertheless. My whole body began to heat up as we deepened our kiss. The way Neji's tongue explored the insides of my mouth made me moan against his lips.

When we broke our kiss to catch our breaths, I looked away to avoid Neji's gaze. I knew how flushed my face was and my lust was definitely evident. I was too embarrassed to show Neji that I wanted more.

"We should sleep soon. We need to wake up early tomorrow."

I was such a liar. Sleep was the last thing I wanted. But I just couldn't bring myself to say the truth.

Neji grabbed my chin and made me look into his beautiful white eyes. But the usual clear orbs were darkened by want. Just with one look, I knew that Neji wanted more as well.

"I don't want to sleep. I want you, Tenten."

I swore my body temperate rose instantly upon hearing Neji's hoarse voice. It was beyond alluring and the way he stared at me made me react immediately. I could feel my nether regions starting to become wet as Neji reached forward for another passionate kiss.

With that, sleep became my last priority.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

"N-Neji."

The way Tenten called out my name as I planted kisses on her exposed body made my erected manhood throb against my pants. I groaned in pleasure when Tenten timidly placed her hands on the obvious tent on my lower region.

I looked into her eyes and knew what she wanted. I pushed her back onto the bed softly and laid her head on the pillow. I reached for my wallet on the night stand and took out the _necessary_ item everyone wanted me to bring along.

Tenten's blush darkened when she saw the object in my hand. She blinked several times before giving me a shy smile.

"You're very prepared, aren't you, Neji?"

"I'm constantly reminded by people around me to stay _safe_. How could I not be prepared?"

Tenten laughed at my response and I found her smiling face simply adorable. Her odd expressions returned when I began taking off my pants and boxers. I wasn't sure if I should feel proud or embarrassed when Tenten couldn't get her eyes off my erection.

I smirked as I put on the condom before kissing Tenten on the lips again. I stared into Tenten's brown eyes for one last confirmation. When I saw nothing but reassurance, I positioned myself in front of her entrance.

Tenten flinched a little when I inserted the tip into her soaking cavern. I stopped right in front of her thin barrier and placed soft kisses on her face before breaking through it with a single thrust. I groaned at the tightness around my hard dick but I wouldn't move until Tenten was ready.

I wiped away the tears from her eyes and continued kissing her to comfort her. I caressed her flushed cheeks, hoping that it would help wash away her pain.

"N-Neji, you can move now."

Tenten wrapped her legs around my hips and her arms rested on my shoulders. I listened to Tenten's words and began thrusting continuously. I started slow, not wanting to bring more pain to the woman I love. But I stopped being hesitant when Tenten began moaning in pleasure.

I loved how Tenten called out my name in between her uncontrollable moans. It made me even more aroused than I already was. And the way her walls tightened around my manhood brought waves of pleasures throughout my body.

"You feel so good, Tenten."

I could feel Tenten's body heat increasing and I saw her eyes darkening with lust. Her moans became louder as I increased my pace. I knew that she was at her limit from the way she screamed my name. I was nearing my own climax as well when her walls became even tighter.

"Neji, I'm going to cum!" Tenten's legs began pushing me deeper into her and I groaned at how good it felt. After a few hard thrusts, Tenten reached her orgasm at the same time I released my seeds.

The two of us took a few moments to regain our breaths. I placed my hands on either side of Tenten's head as I panted for air. My face shot up when I felt Tenten's slightly trembling hands cupping my face.

I returned the sweet smile she was giving me and I nuzzled our noses against each other. It warmed me to see how content Tenten looked. And I was glad she was as pleased as I was.

"I love you, Tenten."

"I love you too, Neji."

How could I ever let her go?

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I felt sore all over.

It was so comfortable and warm to cuddle with Neji and I even got to sleep so soundly. I love the way Neji wrapped his arms around me as we slept. It made me feel that he didn't want to let me go.

And I wasn't planning to let go of him too.

But my legs were rather wobbly the next morning, which was something I didn't expect. At least, I didn't expect it would turn out that bad.

I felt better after a warm bath though and I was thankful for that. I didn't want to walk around and indirectly showing people what I did the night before. I would rather hide inside a hole or something!

After we had our breakfast at the hotel, we rode the car to where the first factory was. Neji told me that there were three factories he had to visit and they weren't very far from one another. He was tasked with a simple inspection work so it wouldn't take much time. He estimated that he would take about an hour in each factory and we could have our lunch before 2 PM.

I was fine with it, of course, since the breakfast we had was rather fulfilling.

I wasn't even surprised at how big the factories were. Everything seemed organized and things looked like they were going smoothly. No wonder the Hyuugas' company could be so successful.

"I hope you weren't too bored."

Neji was looking at me apologetically when we were inside the car, on our way to have lunch. I shook my head in disagreement and smiled to convince Neji that I didn't mind at all.

"I wasn't bored at all. And it's what you came here to do in the first place!"

When we got off from the car, I saw Neji walking towards the chauffer and told him something. I shrugged it off though. Neji probably told him when he should come back to fetch us.

Neji offered his arm to me and I clutched onto it as we entered the restaurant. It was a traditional Korean restaurant which was furnished elegantly. The floors were covered by pine wood and I could see that it was maintained very well.

We could choose to sit on the floor or the chairs but we decided on the later. I was wearing a dress so sitting on the floor wasn't very ideal. It was obvious that Neji wasn't very familiar with Korean cuisine so I was the one who ordered for us. The waitress politely took our orders and left us afterwards.

"Why are you so familiar with Korean food? Everything seems so foreign to me." Neji asked as he took a sip of warm tea.

"I know a thing or two from watching Korean dramas."

"I didn't know you like to watch Korean dramas."

"It's my brother who likes to watch Korean dramas. He always plays it in the living room so I had no other choice but to watch it as well. I find it rather good but my brother is madly in love with them."

I almost burst in laughter when I saw Neji gawking at my words. Judging from the encounters Neji had with my brother; it was quite unbelievable that my brother loved watching romantic Korean dramas.

"My brother's all time favorite drama is Winter Sonata. I swear he re-watched it for more than ten times! And every time he watched it, he would still cry."

"Cry?" Neji repeated the word in a low voice and I knew he couldn't bring himself to believe me.

"I'm serious, Neji! Sometimes, my brother would cry so hard from watching a sad episode that some of our maids and butlers would go to him and asked if he was feeling unwell."

I began laughing as I thought back to the times the house was on alarm because my brother's sobs were extremely loud. I would always end up laughing hard for the next few days.

"I will never expect someone as Tao to have a soft spot for romantic dramas. Like the famous saying says, never judge a book by its cover."

I nodded and laughed at the weird face Neji was making. Just then, our food was served and I was excited to start. I remembered to take a quick snap and planned to send it to my brother. I was sure he would be very envious.

"If I'm not mistaken, Nami Island is one of the places that Winter Sonata was filmed at, right?"

I nodded at Neji's question and asked why he suddenly brought the topic up.

"We could ask the chauffer to drive us there tomorrow. We have time before we head back to Japan, after all."

"That's a great idea! We can take pictures and send it to my brother. I can already imagine his jealous face!"

Neji chuckled as I tried to contain my laughter. I wouldn't want people to start staring at my direction.

The food was beyond satisfactory and the service was great too. I only had Korean food a few times prior our trip but this one was definitely the best I had. Neji seemed to enjoy our meal as well and even suggested that we should go have Korean food sometimes when we were back to Japan.

When I told Neji we should go have them with my brother, he tensed up immediately. I couldn't control myself and roared in laughter at the ridiculous expression he had on his face.

I definitely laughed a lot in such a short period of time.

I was looking around for the car we had been using in Seoul when we left the restaurant. I was rather confused that it was nowhere to be seen. Could they have forgotten about us?

"Where's the car?" I asked Neji as I continued looking around.

I turned my head towards Neji when I felt him holding onto my hand.

"I told them to come back for us tomorrow. I thought you said that you wanted to experience Seoul like a 'local'?"

I beamed with joy and gave Neji one of my signature bear hugs. I squeezed him tightly until he complained that he had trouble breathing.

I placed a quick kiss on his lips before holding onto his hand again.

Neji sure knew how to make me happier than I already was.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm sorry if this chapter is slightly shorter than usual! And I hope it isn't too bad. As usual, please leave a review! Suggestions are very welcomed too. Follows and favorites are very much appreciated! Thank you for reading and have a nice day.


	14. A Promise

Author's Note: I'm sorry if some of you are uncomfortable about the fact that this fanfic is now M rated. But that was the last sex scene in this fanfic. Moreover, this fanfic will be ending soon so I'll be really happy if you will read until the end. Thanks for the follows and favorites, by the way!

Chapter 14: A Promise

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

"Do you know how these work, Tenten?"

"Trust me, Neji. I know what I'm doing."

I sighed as I blindly followed Tenten around the subway. We were trying to get to the N Seoul Tower and according to the Internet; we needed to use both the subway and bus.

After several mistakes and much confusion, we finally set foot on the tallest tower in Seoul.

"See, I told you, Neji. I know what I'm doing."

I could've destroyed Tenten's confidence if I reminded her that she got us onto the wrong train for more than three times. But I might end up with a bruised eye so I decided to stay quiet.

I was looking over the splendid view of Seoul when Tenten pulled me for a picture.

"I don't like taking pictures." I reminded her, making her roll her eyes in annoyance.

"I know, Neji. But that doesn't change the fact that I want a picture with you."

I groaned in defeat before giving Tenten what she wanted. There was something about picture taking that made me immensely awkward. But when I saw the bright smile on Tenten's face, I found myself naturally smiling as well.

After what felt like the hundredth shot, Tenten pulled me towards the exit.

"Where are we going now?" I inquired the much excited Tenten, who was grinning like a little kid.

"You'll see! Just follow me and you won't get lost."

Again, I had the urge to remind her that an hour ago, we ended up in the middle of nowhere. We were lucky that there was a passerby who spoke English and was kind enough to bring us to the bus stop.

But if I wanted to avoid a broken leg, keeping my mouth shut was the wiser choice.

Since there was nothing I could do besides putting my trust on Tenten, I spent most of my time staring at her. I would chuckle whenever she made a mistake and she would put on a horrified expression. And whenever she would complain that Google Maps was leading us to the wrong direction, I couldn't help it but laugh at how irritated she was.

Tenten was panting and letting out a huge sigh of relief when we finally arrived at our destination, Jongmyo Royal Shrine.

I had heard about this place in a documentary I watched. And being added to the UNESCO World Heritage list made it even more famous. Tenten grabbed onto my hand and pulled me to join an English tour.

The atmosphere inside was serene and peaceful. I could clearly hear the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds. I intertwined my hand with Tenten's as we walked through the various traditional shrines.

"I have something important I must tell you, Neji."

I stopped on my tracks at the seriousness of Tenten's voice. I turned my head over my shoulder as saw the odd look on her face. I was getting worried that she might be feeling unwell or it was something worse than that.

"What is it?" I spoke softly, worried that my voice might tremble if I was any louder.

Tenten looked into my eyes and I sensed hesitation just by looking at it. I unconsciously gulped in nervousness, having no idea as to what she was about to say.

And what she said was definitely something I did not expect.

"I'm starving."

I pinched Tenten's cheeks in annoyance while scolding her for scaring me. She laughed and said she wanted to tease me a little. I sighed and ruffled her hair, tangling some of her brown locks. It earned me a light punch on my arm but I simply laughed it off.

I looked up at the skies and noticed that darkness would soon consume them. It was the perfect time for dinner so once again; I allowed Tenten to decide our next stop.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

Nothing could beat authentic Korean barbeque.

After a very much fulfilling dinner at a Korean barbeque restaurant, I felt extremely content. I was starting to feel the ache on my legs after hours of walking.

I hated to admit it but I did cause us to walk in circles a few times. The Korean subway and bus systems were more complicated than I thought. And the fact that I barely used the subway back in Japan didn't help made things easier. Neji was nice enough to not complain at all.

Or perhaps he was worried I would beat him into a pulp.

However, I felt very happy to be able to go around that way. And just like what I had predicted, it allowed me to explore Seoul in a different perspective. When you had to walk through places with the crowds, you got to witness the lives of the people around. You also got to see things up close and learn a thing or two about the country.

All the headaches and aching were definitely worth it.

"Are you tired?" Neji wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I giggled when I felt him planting a kiss on my head.

"A little bit. But the night is still young for us to go back to the hotel room!"

Neji chuckled at my enthusiasm and allowed me to drag him around again. There was one place we could go at such a late hour and that was Dongdaemun. It was a shopping district that would open until 5 AM. It was the perfect place to visit when most places would have already closed.

The shopping district of Dongdaemun was buzzing with life. It didn't seem like it was already 9 PM at night. We walked through crowded streets, all the while holding onto each other's hand. It would be easy for us to get separated in this place and we wouldn't want that to happen.

My eyes caught sight of a really adorable necklace with a panda pendant on it. The panda was made from tiny white gems, making it gave off a silvery sparkle.

Even though it was really cute necklace, I chose not to buy it. It didn't have an attractive price and it wasn't like I needed it. I just wanted it, badly.

I walked away with a tiny smile, and I must say there was a sore feeling inside me. I was staring blankly on the ground, fixating my eyes on my shoes. I stopped walking when I realized that Neji wasn't by my side.

I panicked for a moment, worried that I had separated from him. But when I hastily turned around, I bumped straight into Neji's chest. I rubbed my nose and scolded Neji for scaring me.

"Where did you go?" I asked as I removed my hand from my face. My annoyed expression was replaced by a shocked one when I saw what was inside the velvet box Neji was holding onto.

It was the necklace I had my eyes on earlier.

"How did you know?" My voice trailed off when Neji took the necklace from the box and placed it around my neck. I lovingly traced the panda pendant and I was speechless.

"You looked like you fell in love with that necklace at first sight so I had to buy it for you."

I yelped upon hearing Neji's words and attacked him with a bear hug. I ignored Neji when he said that I was suffocating him.

"Thank you so much, Neji."

Words weren't enough to express how thankful I was. But I hoped a quick kiss on the lips could at least convey half of my gratitude.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

After wandering around for an hour, we ended up in Dongdaemun Design Plaza's rose garden. There were thousands of LED roses, lighting up the entire place. We found a bench and decided to rest for a while.

Once I had sat down, I finally felt the effects of walking endlessly for hours. I groaned at the aches I felt on my legs but then again, it was all worth it at the end.

I smiled when I felt Tenten resting her head on my shoulder. I shifted a little to make her feel more comfortable. My eyes travelled around the garden, once in a while I would catch sight of couples strolling around.

Who knew that I would get the chance to spend time with someone I loved this way?

"Let's go back to the hotel, Tenten. It's getting late."

I glanced over to Tenten when there wasn't any response. I smiled even wider when I found her fast asleep. She appeared to be very exhausted and she must be if she had fallen asleep so easily.

And seeing how cozy she looked, I just didn't bear to wake her up.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

" _It feels so warm and comfortable."_

I snuggled against something solid and I smiled at how nice it felt. My eyes began to open when someone was shaking my shoulder.

"Wake up, Tenten. If you don't get out of bed now, we won't have time to head over to Nami Island."

My eyes shot wide open and I sat up immediately. My head was spinning a little for moving too fast. Neji caught me just in time and pulled me into an embrace.

"I don't remember walking back to the hotel room." I yawned a little and buried my head onto Neji's chest.

"It's because you didn't. You slept like a log back in the rose garden and I called the chauffeur to bring us back."

My face turned pink in an instant and I apologized for the trouble I had caused. It made Neji chuckle and calling me a log again and again.

When I was punching his chest for giving me that nickname, I noticed that he had already taken a shower. Without any warning, he tickled me to get me out of the bed. I ran towards the bathroom before he got the chance to catch me again.

* * *

"My brother will definitely be so jealous of us."

The first thing I did when we arrived at Nami Island was taking a picture of the Winter Sonata statue. I sent it to my brother through WhatsApp right afterwards and Neji commented on my so called evilness.

However, judging from Neji's expression, he seemed to like the idea of bullying my brother.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the island. Of course, Tenten had to pull me into taking pictures from time to time.

I took a bite of the pan-fried rice cake Tenten offered me and I must say it tasted better than it looked. I teased Tenten for getting some red bean paste on the side of her chin and helped her remove it so she could stop pouting.

When it was getting late, I suggested that we should have dinner before going to the airport. Tenten agreed and we had traditional Korean food before we left Nami Island.

When I saw a slight frown on Tenten's face while we were inside the car, I assured her that we would definitely have the chance to come back again.

"Pinky promise?" Tenten was grinning as she brought her pinky in front of my face.

"You're more childish than I thought."

Tenten pouted at my words and narrowed her eyes at me. I laughed before bringing my own pinky to interlock with hers.

"I promise."

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

"I'll go take a shower first."

It was pretty late when we got back to our room in the dormitory. I slumped onto my bed, allowing my exhaustion to get to me. I was too tired so I didn't mind Neji using the bathroom first.

The only noise filling up the room was the sound of water running. That was until my phone suddenly rang.

I took my phone from my pocket and smiled when I saw that it was my older brother calling. Evil thoughts came to my mind as I imagined my brother expressing his jealousy.

"Hello, Nii-san." I tried to contain my laughter and acted as naturally as possible. But honestly, I really just wanted to laugh my heart out.

"I hope you had fun, Tenten. And I want to thank you for all the pictures you had sent to me. I'm glad you have me in your mind during your trip."

When I noticed how depressed my brother sounded, I could no longer stop myself from laughing heartily. I heard my brother huffing on the other line and mumbling something incoherent.

I stopped laughing when my brother cleared his throat and there was an evident change of atmosphere.

"Actually, I have something important I need to tell you, Tenten."

"What is it?" An indescribable bad feeling was triggered inside me. My brother was acting weird and even though I couldn't see his face, I could easily imagine his stern face at that moment.

"Uncle came over to our house just now and told me that he had made a certain arrangement. He kept on insisting that it was for the benefit of the company and all that. I tried to convince him that it was a mistake but he just wouldn't listen to me."

"What are you talking about, Nii-san? What arrangement did uncle made?"

Ever since my parents had passed away, my uncle, who was my father's younger brother, was in charge of the family's company. He was also the guardian of my brother and I. He made almost all the important decisions concerning the company and the household.

But my uncle never abused his power. He would only make decisions that would bring good to the company my parents left behind. Moreover, he genuinely cared and loved my brother and me.

So what was this so called 'arrangement' our uncle made that seemed to upset my brother?

"He is planning to have you engaged to the son of a high ranked general. I'm not sure if you know this person but I know him because the both of us are members of an art club in university. His name is Deidara."

I felt my heart skipping a beat at the mention of Deidara's name. My hands were trembling due to shock and I no longer had the ability to hold onto my phone. My mind was in a complete mess and I couldn't begin to comprehend what was going on.

Why was this happening?

* * *

Author's Note: This fanfic is coming to an end and I will appreciate it if you will continue showing your support! As usual, please leave a review on your way out. Suggestions and opinions are highly valued. Of course, follows and favorites are equally great! Thank you for reading and have a nice day.


	15. Our Unpredictable Love

Author's Note: I would like to thank every reader who had stayed up until this chapter. This fanfic has come to an end. Enjoy the last chapter, everyone!

Chapter 15: Our Unpredictable Love

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

"Oji-san, I disagree with this engagement."

After my call with my brother ended, I left a note telling Neji that I had an urgent matter to attend to at home and left the school grounds. Even though it was already almost 11 PM, I had to talk to my brother immediately. And luckily for me, my uncle happened to be at our house as well.

I knew it was rude of me but I went straight to the point right after I made eye contact with my uncle. My expression clearly showed that I was against the idea of getting engaged to Deidara. My brother and uncle were confused as to why I was so worked up though.

It was understandable since they didn't know I used to date that guy.

"But, Tenten, perhaps you'll grow to like Deidara if you get to know him better. He's really nice."

My uncle, who was in his 40s, appeared to be as friendly as he always was. I could see that he was slightly taken aback by my lack of manners but at that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care.

" _If I want to get away with this, I must tell them the truth, don't I?"_

"To be honest, I know Deidara for a long time already. I met him at an archery club I used to frequent. And I am very sure it's impossible between us."

My brother's eye shot wide open as he stared blankly at me. My uncle was scratching the back of his head, as if trying to think of something to say. His action had unfortunately messed up his brown hair a little. My uncle's smile widened when he finally thought of something.

"Maybe you'll change your mind if you try going on dates with him."

"He's my ex-boyfriend, Oji-san."

"He is your what?!" My brother stood up from his seat and was staring at me with a horrified look on his face. As for my uncle, he was completely speechless.

"That's why I say it's impossible between us." I crossed my arms in front of my chest as I waited for either my brother or uncle to respond.

"What am I suppose to say to Deidara's family?" My uncle was mumbling more to himself but I heard him clearly anyway.

"Tell them I'm not interested in him." My snappy tone startled my uncle and I felt guilty immediately. I knew I shouldn't be so rude but I was really upset. I hated it when people decided things like these without asking me first.

I glanced over to my brother and saw that he was still pretty shocked. I sighed before speaking again, "And you, Nii-san, why didn't you tell Oji-san that I have a boyfriend?"

"You have a boyfriend right now?!" My uncle exclaimed in surprise and looked between my brother and me. The whole situation was giving me a headache and my eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"Yes, I do." I answered as calmly as I could, even though I was on the verge of exploding from frustration.

"Who?" By then, my uncle had stood up and was crossing his arms in front of him. It was obvious that he was rather unhappy because we didn't tell him about my relationship status.

It was definitely time to clear things up once and for all.

"My boyfriend is Neji Hyuuga."

At the mention of Neji's name, my uncle exclaimed his shock once again. I groaned as I massaged my temples while my brother went back to his seat on the sofa. Next time, I would definitely remember to inform my uncle about big things going on in my life. He seemed to be unable to digest everything at one go.

After my uncle had calmed down, he placed a hand on his chin and appeared to be deep in thoughts. I just quietly waited for him to see what he would say next.

His next words definitely snapped a nerve or two inside my head.

"Neji Hyuuga is Hizashi Hyuuga's son and I heard nothing but great things about him. Although their family business has no connection to ours, it's still a very successful company. It'll be beneficial to us in a way if you're engaged to him."

"Oji-san, how could you see my relationship in that sort of way?! Not everything is about benefits and money, you know!" My uncle took a step backwards when I finally lost the battle with the self control inside me. I expressed my anger without holding myself back and from the look on my brother's face; he understood why I acted that way.

"The thought happens to cross my mind!" My uncle defended himself while trying to calm me down. He was smiling apologetically as he patted my shoulder. The loudest sigh of the night escaped me before I spoke.

"And I just dated him not long ago so it's way too soon to be discussing anything about engagement."

"Don't you want to marry him, Tenten?"

My uncle's question caused me to jump a little in surprise. I wasn't expecting that I would be talking about marriage at such an early stage of our relationship. But despite the rather messed up timing, I was more than sure that I loved Neji with all my heart.

I grabbed onto the panda pendant on my necklace which was a gift from Neji. Somehow, I could feel Neji's love for me radiating from it. "Of course I want to marry him. I can't imagine life without him."

It was embarrassing to say something like that in front of my brother and uncle but it was my sincere feelings. There was absolutely no point in trying to hide the truth. But wouldn't it freak Neji out if he were to suddenly get engaged with me?

What if he didn't want that? Well, I would never know if I didn't ask.

"See, it's perfect! And, Tenten, it's never too early to discuss something as important as marriage."

I took a handful of my hair, which I had let down, when I felt annoyed all over again. I closed the gap between my uncle and me before I snapped.

"It is because of how important it is, we should be taking it slowly and not rushing things instead!"

My uncle thought of my words for a few moments. But when he responded, I knew that he didn't fully understood what I was trying to say.

"If you don't act fast, he might run away! Anyway, don't worry about it, Tenten. I'll handle everything."

And before I could ask my uncle to clarify what he was trying to say, he had left without another word.

I turned to my brother, who seemed to have given up in putting sense into our uncle's mind.

"Nii-san, do something!"

All my brother did was sighing in defeat and spoke in a tired voice.

"You know how stubborn Oji-san is. What we can do now is to wait and see what he does next."

I slumped onto the spot beside my brother and ran my fingers through my hair with greater force than necessary. I ended up looking like I had just had a cat fight but I didn't care.

"Truth be told, if it's Neji Hyuuga, I am sure he will cherish my sister and love her unconditionally for the rest of his life. I don't see any reason for me to stop you from marrying him."

My brother's words reflected his sincere blessings and I could feel his love for me. I grabbed onto my brother's arm and rested my head on his shoulder. I stayed that way for quite some time, feeling the warmth of my brother who doted me with all his heart.

There was a complete change in the atmosphere when my brother asked a question I wished he didn't.

"By the way, Tenten, why didn't you tell me about you and Deidara?"

I still had a long way to go before the night would end, wouldn't I?

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

I was surprised to find a note on my desk from Tenten, who said she had urgent matters to attend to back at home. I wanted to give her a call to see if she was alright but was worried that I would interrupt her.

My plan was to wait for her to return before going to bed. But I was beyond exhausted and after taking a shower, I became even sleepier than I already was.

Before I could stop myself, I had fallen asleep unintentionally.

I was woken up by certain soft warmth on my cheek. When I managed to open my heavy eyelids, I caught sight of Tenten smiling cheerfully in front of me. She was giggling at my drowsy state before pulling me away from the comfort of my bed.

I could get used to Tenten's new way of waking me up, that was for sure.

After we had our lunch, Tenten and I were relaxing on one of the benches at the garden. I asked Tenten what happened last night since it was just the two of us. However, she simply shrugged it off and told me it wasn't anything I should be worried about. From the way she tried to avoid looking into my eyes, I could see that she wasn't telling me the truth.

I was going to persuade her into telling me but was interrupted by my ringing phone. It turned out to be my father so I picked it up in an instant.

"Hello, father."

"Neji, is it possible for you to come home after your class ended today?"

"Yes."

My father hung up afterwards, leaving me slightly puzzled. Initially, I thought that he wanted me to go home so that I could report to him about my South Korea trip. But there was something different about his tone. I could sense his usual seriousness but there was a tint of excitement in his voice.

" _What's going on?"_

* * *

"We have something important to tell you, Neji."

I was asked to go straight to the study room once I reached home. Judging from the looks on my father and uncle's faces, it definitely wasn't about the trip. They appeared to be happy for some unknown reason.

"We had decided to have you engaged with the perfect girl for you."

My father's words caused my heart to clench uncomfortably. My eyes shot wide open and were soon turned into a furious glare. How could they decide on something so important without telling me about it in the first place?

"This is unacceptable." My rudeness was definitely out of character but I was fuming. "How could you decide on that without telling me anything?"

"Neji, listen t-"

"And I have a girlfriend whom I love a lot. I'm not planning to break up with her for anyone." I felt guilty for interrupting my uncle but I couldn't stop my raging self. "I love Tenten and I have decided to spend the rest of my life with her and her only."

I was panting slightly for talking way too fast. My glare softened and I looked away from my father and uncle. I felt horrible for raising my voice at them and I couldn't bring myself to look at them in the eyes.

But I abruptly turned to them when I heard my uncle spoke.

"That's good to hear."

I blinked at my uncle in absolute confusion. What in the world did he mean by that?

My father was smiling as he nodded in agreement and the two men in front of me spoke as if I wasn't there.

"It seems like Neji's engagement does not have any problems." My uncle smiled upon hearing my father's words and he placed a hand over his mouth as he thought about something I had no clue about.

"Hizashi, when do you think is the perfect time for them to get married?"

"It's best if it's after they graduated from university."

"I agree." My uncle nodded absent mindedly, as if his thoughts were somewhere far away. That was until an idea seemed to have surfaced in his mind. "We should definitely hold a grand wedding, don't you think?"

"Of course, that goes without saying. Also, I th-"

"Wait, stop right there." I interrupted an elder for the second time that day but the whole thing was confusing me to no end. I had made it clear that Tenten was the only one whom I wanted to marry and yet, they continued talking as if I had agreed on the engagement they decided on. "I believe I made myself clear that I do not wish to marry anyone but Tenten."

My uncle and father looked at me as if I was some sort of odd ball and were exchanging confused glances with each other. My father was the one who broke the silence.

"We understand what you're trying to say, Neji. And we're more than happy to know that you feel that way."

"Then why are the two of you still discussing my engagement with another woman?!"

"What?" My uncle's voice trailed off in a slightly awkward way and I had never saw the dumbfounded face he was making at that time. My father, who was equally astonished, was able to regain his composure first and began explaining the whole situation.

"Neji, the perfect girl we are referring to is Tenten."

"What?" It was my turn to appear completely stunned and I was standing there like an idiot. I felt even more embarrassed when I saw my uncle trying to suppress a chuckle and my father was shaking his head while sighing.

"There is no way we would have you engaged to someone you don't love, Neji. Who do you think we are?" My uncle didn't bother to prevent his chuckle from escaping when he heard my father's words, which made my face go bright red.

I quickly shook my head and spoke up my mind, "But this is way too sudden. And I just started dating Tenten not too long ago."

"Actually, it was Tenten's uncle who approached us about this." My uncle then told me that Tenten's uncle visited my father and him at the company earlier in the morning. He told them that initially, he had planned to have Tenten engaged to Deidara. But Tenten was furious and made it clear that I was the one she wanted to marry.

My cheeks were burning even more when I heard that but it would be a lie if I said I wasn't overjoyed. My father and uncle obviously noticed it even though I was trying to hide it from them.

"The two of you have decided to spend the rest of your lives with each other. I don't see any problems with the engagement." My uncle seemed very pleased and was smiling wider than usual. The sight comforted me and I caught myself smiling along.

"But don't you think this is happening too soon? It feels kind of rushed." I must admit I still had doubts about the whole plan. Even though the two of us agreed to the idea, it felt weird to be engaged officially when we had just started dating.

My father must have sensed my discomfort and thought of the best way to settle the whole thing.

"Well, to know that the two of you are serious about each other is enough to put us at ease. Tenten is a wonderful girl and we are more than happy to have her as part of our family. We'll leave the rest to you. Propose to her whenever you feel is the right time."

I smiled and nodded with confidence. I wanted to show my father and uncle that there was nothing for them to be worried about.

After all, Tenten was the only person I wanted to be with until the very end.

* * *

 **Tenten's POV**

I met up with Deidara a day after my uncle told me about my engagement to him. I made it clear to him that it was not possible for us to be together. Seeing how serious I was, Deidara told me that he could see how much I loved Neji and there was no way for me to change my feelings.

Deidara, after knowing that he had no hope, apologized for setting up the whole engagement thing between the two of us. He admitted to have asked his father to speak with my uncle about it.

Before Deidara left, he wished me luck and hoped that I would always be happy.

That was what happened more than two years ago. After that day, Neji and I talked about the engagement that was decided for us and had a good laugh at it. We confessed that we wanted to be with each other forever but both of us agreed that it was too soon to make it official.

And right now, it was the day of our graduation, marking the end of our high school journey. It was an emotional day indeed and I had mixed feelings about leaving high school. So many memories were made and precious friendships were forged. Not to mention, I had found the love of my life in high school.

It was amazing how time flied so fast. It felt like orientation happened yesterday and we just started our high school lives. But everything passed by in a blink of an eye and we were already graduating.

At least all my classmates and I were going to attend Konoha University together. It made leaving high school less sad.

The graduation ceremony ended and I was hanging out with my classmates at the garden where the after party was held. We had all removed our graduation gowns and were in our formal attires. The girls and I wore long white dresses while the guys were in their suits.

My uncle and brother were there as well and I saw them speaking with my classmates' parents. It was when I saw Neji's father that I realized that Neji wasn't around.

" _Where is Neji?"_

"Tenten."

I turned around at the familiar voice calling me. My breath was taken away from me when I saw the man I was looking for, standing in front of me with a beautiful bouquet of flower in his right hand. What surprised me more was the velvet box on his other hand.

The sight in front of me was more than enough to make me cry tears of utter joy.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

The past three years I had spent with Tenten were definitely the happiest days of my life. It wasn't always smooth sailing, of course. There were times we argued and fought. But at the end of the day, it just made our relationship even stronger than ever.

More than two years ago, my father had trusted me to be able to decide when was the best time to propose to the woman I loved with all my heart. And I had decided graduation day was the perfect moment.

Everything felt so right and I knew it was time. And seeing Tenten tearing up with such a blissful smile on her beautiful face, I knew I had made the right decision.

I walked over to her, all the while not removing my eyes from her. I handed her the bouquet of flowers before wiping away her tears. Tenten was holding onto the bouquet tightly, as if it had just become one of the most important things in her life.

I took a quick glance around and saw that the two of us had become the center of attention. I caught a glimpse of my father and uncle, who were both appearing immensely happy with my decision. The same could be said about Tenten's brother and uncle.

My teachers seemed very pleased as well and I heard Gai-sensei exclaiming something about the 'beauty of youth'. As for my classmates, let's just say some of them were clearly overexcited.

Naruto and Kiba was literally shouting at the top of their lungs, cheering some incoherent words I didn't bother to make out. Sakura and Ino were squealing like crazy and brought Hinata into a group hug. Hinata, as always, was much calmer but from the look on her eyes, I knew that she was truly happy with my decision.

I turned back to Tenten, who had yet to stop sobbing. I chuckled a little and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. I caressed her drenched cheeks lovingly before I made my final move.

Tenten gasped once again when I opened the velvet box in front of her, revealing the shining diamond ring I had bought for her using my own money. About a year and a half ago, I asked my father and uncle to hire me as a part-timer in the company. It was for experience and also for this very moment. It would only feel complete if I were to use money I had earned on my own.

After all, Tenten deserved all the sincerity from my heart.

I got onto one knee and held the velvet box towards Tenten. I had always found this action to be very embarrassing but I didn't mind doing it for Tenten. I smiled when I saw more tears escaping her mesmerizing brown eyes, reflecting pure bliss and happiness.

Happiness was flowing throughout my body as well and all traces of nervousness were gone.

"Tenten, will you marry me?"

Tenten didn't waste any time and was nodding as more tears of joy fell from her deep orbs.

"Yes, I will, Neji."

I stood up and took the ring from the velvet box before keeping the box inside my pocket. I held onto Tenten's left hand and placed the ring on her finger.

Tenten traced the ring lovingly, as if checking if everything was happening for real. She looked at me in the eyes for another confirmation and was overjoyed to be convinced that we were indeed engaged for real.

I pulled her into an embrace, which made the audience cheer loudly and excitedly. Tenten removed her head from my chest and smiled at me heartwarmingly. I did the same as I rested my forehead on hers. We stayed that way for a few moments despite the crowd around us.

"We're not going to get married any time soon, right?" Tenten asked while giggling softly.

"Don't worry. Marriage can wait until we graduate from university."

"Then why did you propose now?"

"Maybe I'm just too excited to start calling you my fiancée."

Tenten laughed at my answer before kissing me on the lips.

"I love you, Neji."

"I love you too, Tenten."

If I were to look back to the first day I had met Tenten, I would have never imagined that a day like this would arrive.

But then again, we could never guess what would happen in the future.

After all, life was unpredictable.

 **THE END**

* * *

Author's Note: I'm kind of sad this ended. I want to thank every reader who had supported me and finished reading until the very end. I am very happy! At the mean time, please check out my other fanfic as well. I'm planning to start a new one soon so look forward to it too. As usual, please leave a review on your way out. Thank you for reading and see you in my other fanfic!


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